SPEECH  OF  ME.  RAYNER, 

OF  NORTH  CAROLINA, 


1       =  R  OX  THE 

§  TREASURY  NOTE  BIM,. 

6  i 

5  s     [gi  Delivered  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  on  the  5th  of  February,  1841. 

g  he  bill  authorizing  the  issue  of  Treasury  notes  to  the  amount  of  five  millions 

7  ^=S§  ollars  being  under  consideration — and  Mr.  BARNAKD   of  New  York  having 
=!^=     fid  to  strike  out  the  enacting  clause  of  the  bill ;  giving  notice  that,  if  the  mo- 
prevailed,  and  a  report  to  that  effect  should  be  made  to  the  House,  he  would 

men  offer  the  following  resolution  : 

Kf  solved,  That  the  subject  of  making  provision  for  the  wants  of  the  Treasury  be  referred  back 
to  the  Committee  of  Ways  and  Means,  with  instructions — 

First.  To  bring  in  a  bill  authorizing  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  borrow  ten  millions  of 
dollars  on  the  credit  of  the  Government,  and  to  issue  bonds  or  scrip  therefor. 

Second.  To  bring  in  a  bill  imposing  duties  for  additional  revenue  on  wines,  silks,  linens, 
spices,  and  other  articles,  being  luxuries,  imported  into  the  United  States ;  but  in  such  manner 
as  not  to  conflict  with  the  principles,  policy,  and  spirit  of  the  act  of  March,  1833,  commonly 
called  "  the  Compromise  Act." 

Mr.  RAYNER,  of  North  Carolina,  spoke  as  follows: 

He  said  he  should  vote  against  the  issue  of  Treasury  notes  now,  as  he  did,  at 
the  last  session  ;  but  that  he»was  willing  to  vote  for  a  loan,  and  for  additional 
duties  on  articles  of  luxury,  as  contemplated  by  the  resolution  of  the  gentleman 
from  Ne'w  York.  Setting  aside  the  disputed  question,  as  to  the  constitutional 
power  of  Congress  to  issue  Treasury  notes,  about  which  (said  Mr.  R.)  I  shall 
venturerfio  opinion  novv^  yet  I  oppose  the  measure  on  grounds  of  inexpediency. 
I  believe  that  a  crisis  has  arrived  in  our  financial  affairs,  which  requires  a  remod- 
elling of  the  system,  which  must  soon  be  met ;  and  that  this  issue  of  Treasury  notes 
is  calculated  to  put  off  to  a  future  day,  that,  which  requires  immediate  attention. 
I  look  upon  it  as  deceptive  in  its  character,  and  calculated  to  conceal  from  the 
knowledge  of  the  country,  the  embarrassed  and  ruinous  condition  of  the  national 
Treasury.  It  is  also  calculated  to  screen  from  a  just  responsibility,  the  condemned 
authors  of  that  system  of  misrule  which  has  bankrupted  the  Treasury,  and  well 
nigh  dishonored  the  nation.  For  whilst  it,  in  fact,  entails  upon  the  Government 
a  debt— a  national  debt,  in  every  sense  of  the  word — yet,  so  much  magic  is  there 
in  a  name,  that  those  who  have  for  years  been  resorting  to  this  system,  have  as 
uniformly  denied  that  they  have  imposed  upon  the  country  a  national  debt ;  but 
insisted,  that  they  were  only  using  temporarily  the  credit  of  the  Government. 

Now,  sir,  it  is  right  that  there  should  no  longer  be  practised  any  deception  on 
this  subject.  It  is  right  that  the  true  situation  of  the  Treasury  should  be  made 
known  to  the  country.  It  is  right  that  the  authors  of  the  financial  embarrassments 
under  which  we  are  now  suffering,  should  be  held  to  a  strict  accountability.  Let 
them,  in  the  few  days  of  power  which  they  have  left,  confess  that  the  Treasury  is 
empty,  that  the  country  is  in  debt,  that  funds  are  necessary  to  save  the  honor  and 
credit  of  the  nation,  and  bring  in  a  bill  authorizing  a  loan  :  1  will  vote  for  it, 
although  it  shall  be  with  a  prntestando  against  the  wasteful  extravagance  which 
has  rendered  it  necessary.  Sir,  if  the  Government  is  in  debt,  without  the  means 
of  paying,  the  people  should  know  it ;  they  should  also  know  the  amount  of  that 
debt,  under  whose  management  it  has  been  incurred,  and  the  manner  and  terms 
on  which  it  is  to  be  paid. 

The  issue  of  Treasury  notes,  as  I  have  before  said,  is  only  putting  off  the  day 
of  settlement,  and  throwing  it  on  those  who,  while  they  have  foretold  and  pro- 
tested against  the  present  evils,  will  yet  be  charged,  when  the  day  of  reckoning 


comes,  with  having  incurred  the  debt,  for  the  payment  of  which  they  are  now 
making  provision. 

If  Treasury  notes  be  constitutional — about  which,  as  I  said  before,  I  deem  it 
unnecessary  to  express  an  opinion — yet  I  do  not  consider  this  to  be  an  occasion 
when  it  is  proper  to  resort  to  them.  It  may  be,  that  in  cases  of  emergency  which 
cannot  be  foreseen  or  provided  for — as  war,  or  a  sudden  revulsion  in  the  trade  and 
revenue  of  the  country — the  issue  pf  Treasury  notes  might  not  only  be  expedient, 
but  absolutely  necessary ;  when  the  interest,  the  honor,  and  the  plighted  faith  of  the 
country,  were  in  danger  of  being  compromised.  Sudden  and  unexpected  difficul- 
ties not  only  require,  but  justify,  extreme  and  unusual  remedies.  But  such  is  not 
the  case  at  the  present  time.  The  horrors  of  war  have  not  suddenly  burst  upon 
us,  and  the  difficulties  which  beset  the  trade  and  commerce  of  the  country,  so  far 
from  being  sudden  and  unexpected,  have  been  gradual  in,their  approach,  long  seen, 
and  long  felt.  Then,  not  being  suddenly  called  upon  to  provide  against  some  un- 
foreseen disaster,  I  insist  upon  it  that  tot  should  take  time  to  view  the  whole  field 
of  difficulty,  throw  the  responsibility  where  it  properly  belongs,  and  resort  to  such 
means  as  shall  be  consistent  with  the  obligations  we  owe  to  the  country,  and  the 
duty  which  we  owe  to  ourselves.  1  speak  as  a  member  of  the  Whig  part}' ;  as  a 
member  of  that  party  which  long  foresaw  and  long  forewarned  the  country,  against 
the  measures  which  have  reduced  us  to  this  ruinous  and  almost  degraded  condition. 
Sir,  I  do  not  choose  to  be  driven  by  this  cry  of  the  "  immediate  wants"  of  the  Gov- 
ernment, about  which  we  have  heard  so  much,  to  the  commission  of  an  act,  which 
I  not  only  believe  to  be  inexpedient  and  unwise  at  the  present  time,  but  which, 
while  it  is  calculated  to  relieve  the  guilty  from  responsibility,  will  throw  the  odium 
of  their  misdeeds  upon  those  who  are  to  succeed  them. 

As  to  the  indebtedness  of  the  Government,  without  the  means  of  making  pay- 
ment, there  is  no  difference  of  opinion  here.  That  more  money  will  be  required, 
than  can  be  supplied  by  the  accruing  revenue  for  the  present  year,  must  be 
admitted  on  all  hands.  As  to  the  deficit  which  exists, .ana*  the  amount  which  will 
be  required  for  present  wants  and  future  demands  during  the  year,  it  is  a  point  of 
controversy.  1  shall  attempt  to  show,  before  I  conclude,  that  it  is  much  larger 
than  can  be  gathered  from  the  obscure  and  cunningly-devised  report  of  the  Sec- 
retary of  the  Treasury.  The  question  is,  how  is  the  requisite  sum  to  be  raised? 
After  a  great  and  unexampled  victor}',  the  Whig  party  is  about  to  come  into 
power,  and  they  find  the  Government  crippled  in  its  resources,  and  bent  down  by 
years  of  pressure.  We  now  have  to  apply  the  remedy.  Wre  now  have  to  raise 
the  means  of  enabling  the  country  to  comply  with  its  obligations,  to  repair  its 
shattered  defences,  and  to  save  the  national  honor.  I  am  willing  to  do  this,  but  I 
cannot  consent  that  a  discomfited  enemy  shall  dictate  the  way  in  which  it  is  to 
be  done.  Still  less  am  I  willing  to  aid  in  screening  that  enemy  from  public  indig- 
nation, by  assuming  the  responsibilily  which  should  rest  on  him.  And  if  we  have 
nothing  to  hope  from  an  obstinate  and  perverse  majority  here — if  this  measure  is 
presented  to  us  as  the  ultimatum,  as  the  only  relief  which  they  will  consent  to 
give,  I,  for  one,  am  for  "  biding  my  time,"  and  am  willing  to  wait,  till  those  who 
truly  represent  the  interests  and  wishes  of  the  people,  shall  have  assembled  here. 

1  have  sta.ted  that  I  am  willing  to  vote  for  a  loan,  and  feeling  assured,  as  I  do, 
that  five  millions  will  not  be  more  than  half  sufficient  to  meet  the  deficit  for  the 
present  year,  I  am  willing  to  vote  for  the  ten  millions  contemplated  by  the  reso- 
lution of  the  gentleman  from  New  York.  I  prefer  a  loan,  because  it  will  reveal 
to  the  country  the  actual  condition  of  the  Treasurv,  and  I  prefer  that  it  should  be 
authorized  by  the  same  men,  whose  measures  have  forced  us  to  this  alternative. 
Those  who  have  contracted  the  debt,  and  squandered  the  means  of  carrying  on 
the  Government,  should  take  the  responsibility  of  making  provision  for  both. 
Paying  a  debt  is  not  incurring  a  debt.  It  may  be,  and  it  will  be,  that  the  admin- 
istration to  succeed  the  one  now  in  power,  will  be  compelled  to  provide  the  means 


of  paying  the  debt  already  incurred^  and  of  meeting  the  deficit  growing  out  of 
the  shock  given  to  trade  and  commerce,  by  the  deslructive  policy  of  the  present 
party  in  power.  And  I  wish  now,  in  advance,  to  call  the  attention  of  this  House, 
and  of  the  country,  to  the  fact,  that  any  measure  of  relief  hereafter  to  be  resorted 
to  by  the  coming  administration,  will  be  the  inevitable  result  of  the  policy  of  the 
present  administration.  If  the  country  is  in  debt,  that  debt  must  be  paid  ;  if  there 
is  a  deficiency  in  the  revenue  for  the  present  year,  that  deficiency,  must  be  pro- 
vided for;  and  if,  in  applying  the  means  for  either,  the  country  is  pressed,  let  not 
those  be  blamed  who  make  the  provision,  but  those  who  forced  it  upon  them. 
Sir,  I  make  these  remarks,  because  it  is  very  apparent,  from  the  tone  of  the  de- 
bate on  the  other  side,  as  well  as  of  the  presses  in  their  support,  that  this  is  to  be 
the  basis  of  an  organized  opposition  against  General  Harrison's  administration. 
And  now,  I  charge  in  anticipation — and  I  call  upon  gentlemen  on  the  other  side 
to  note  what  1  say — you  have  squandered  the  public  treasure  ;  you  have  crippled 
the  resources  of  the  country,  by  your  war  upon  commerce  and  credit ;  you  are 
about  to  go  out  of  power,  after  having  plunged  the  country  in  debt,  and  deprived 
it  of  the  means  of  meeting  its  necessary  expenditures ;  and  upon  your  heads,  and 
yours  alone,  let  the  responsibility  rest.  And  in  providing  the  means,  as  we  shall 
hereafter  be  compelled  to  do,  to  pay  for  your  extravagance,  and  to  supply  the 
deficiency  caused  by  your  warfare  upon  commerce,  let  it  not  be  said,  for  in  truth 
it  cannot,  that  we  have  imposed  upon  the  country  a  national  debt. 

If  the  interest  of  the  country,  in  a  pecuniary  point  of  view,  is  to  be  consulted, 
a  loan  must  be  preferable  to  Treasury  notes.  Treasury  notes,  with  four  and  a 
half  millions  now  outstanding,  and  bearing  an  interest  of  six  per  cent.,  are  now,  I 
learn,  from  one-half  to  three-fourths  per  cent,  below  specie  par.  These  Treasury 
notes  are  reissuable,  let  it  be  recollected,  until  the  31st  March,  of  the  present  year. 
Authorize  the  issue  of  five  millions  more,  or  ten  millions,  as  contemplated  by  the 
amendment  of  the  gentleman  from  Virginia,  (Mr.  WISE,)  and  as  you  thus  in- 
crease their  amount, you  lessen  their  value.  It  may  be  said,  these  Treasury  notes  are 
paid  out  to  the  public  creditor  at  par,  and  received  from  the  public  debtor  at  par. 
But,  sir,  is  it  right,  with  all  your  professions  about  a  specie  currency,  and  all  your 
denunciations  of  paper,  to  receive  the  public  dues  in  a  medium  less  valuable  than 
specie,  whilst,  according  to  the  provisions  of  the  sub-Treasury  law,  you  are  com- 
pelled to  collect  one-half  of  the  revenue  in  gold  and  silver  after  the  4th  July 
next?  And  is  it  right  to  compel  the  public  creditor — or  leave  him  no  other  alter- 
native, which  is  the  same  thing — to  receive  the  amount  due  him  in  a  medium  less 
valuable  than  specie,  after  all  the  clamor  we  have  heard  about  the  impositions  of 
banks,  and  the  worthlessness  of  paper  money?  Treasury  notes,  iike  all  other 
bills  of  credit,  cannot  long  maintain  their  nominal  value,  as  has  been  proven  by 
the  history  of  all  Governments  that  have  ever  resorted  to  them.  In  fact,  they 
are  a  sort  of  revolutionary  currency  at  best,  never  resorted  to  by  Governments 
except  when  in  extremis ;  and  when  they  have  no  other  mode  of  supplying 
their  coffers,  and  of  sustaining  their  credit.  They  remind  me  too  strongly  of 
Continental  paper  money,  and  the  assignats  of  revolutionary  France,  to  receive 
my  sanction.  Owing  to  their  uncertain  and  fluctuating  character,  as  to  the  time 
and  amount  of  their  issues,  capitalists  are  afraid  to  invest  in  them  ;  and,  as  a  cur- 
rency, they  are  entirely  unsuited  to  the  public  convenience.  And  all  the  patch- 
work of  legislation  to  which  you  may  resort,  cannot  acquire  for  them  the  confi- 
dence and  countenance  of  the  commercial  community.  But  resort  to  a  loan,  issue 
your  scrip,  redeemable  on  time,  with  a  fixed  rate  of  interest,  and  you  create  a 
stock  in  which  capitalists  will  seek  to  invest  their  money  ;  and  this  stock,  so  far 
from  soiling  at  a  discount,  will  command  a  premium.  I  understand  that  the  stock 
issued  by  the  Government  in  1822,  '23,  and  '24,  although  redeemable  at  plea- 
sure, sold  at  a  premium  of  two  per  cent.  If  issued  on  time  it  would  be  worth 
more ;  but  at  two  per  cent,  the  Government  would  save  $200,000  in  a  loan  of 


ten  millions.  If  you  issue  Treasury  notes  made  returnable  in  one  year,  you  are 
only  postponing  the  evil,  which  will  be  aggravated  when  the  time  of  presentation 
arrives.  For,  as  I  shall  attempt  to  show,  the  deficit  in  the  Treasury  is  not  a  tem- 
porary one,  but  a  permanent  one  which  cannot  be  supplied,  unless  the  imports 
should  be  increased  beyond  any  reasonable  calculation,  or  the  duties  on  those 
imports,  or  a  portion  of  them,  should  be  raised.  So  that,  at  the  time  these  Trea- 
sury notes  shall  return,  the  Treasury  will  need  all  its  available  means  in  order  to 
meet  the  necessary  and  current  demands  of  the  Government. 

That  there  is  a  deficit  all  agree.  The  question  is,  how  large  is  it  likeJy  to  be 
during  the  present  year?  I  have  no  doubt  that  it  will  be  more  than  ten  millions; 
it  certainly  will,  if  Congress  passes  the  appropriations  that  are  absolutely  neces- 
sary for  the  country.  It  is  true,  we  can  make  the  expenditures  any  amount  we 
please,  no  matter  how  small,  if  we  are  disposed  to  disband  the  army,  to  lay  up 
the  navy,  desert  our  fortifications,  suspend  our  foreign  intercourse,  &c.  In'read- 
ing  the  report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  I  was  struck  with  the  time-serv- 
ing and  disgraceful  proposition  he  has  made,  for  the  purpose  of  preserving  a  bal- 
ance in  the  Treasury  at  the  end  of  the  year.  He  says  : 

"  But  the  preservation  of  a  suitable  balance  in  the  Treasury  nviy  require  more  than  what  will 
probably  be  left  after  satisfying  other  purposes.  The  raising  of  any  sum  for  that  object  in  1841 
could,  however,  be  obviated  by  authorizing  a  contract  to  be  made,  under  proper  restrictions,  ex- 
tending the  period  of  payment  for  a  portion  of  the  temporary  liabilities  falling  due  in  that  year^ 
Yet,  in  the  opinion  of  the  undersigned,  the  best  mode  of  providing  for  this  case  would  be,  with- 
out either  an  extension  of  this  kind,  or  a  loan,  or  a  further  issue  of  Treasury  notes,  or  a  change 
in  the  tariff;  but  merely  by  lessening  the  appropriations  for  the  service  of  1841  below  Ike  esti- 
mates, or  by  passing  such  declaratory  clauses  as  to  the  present  tariff,  and  such  acts  as  to  the 
public  lands,  as  have  heretofore  been  urged  on  the  consideration  of  Congress." 

Now,  here  is  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  an  officer  whose  especial  duty  it 
is  to  submit  an  estimate  of  all  the  expenditures  necessary  for  the  Government, 
proposing  in  one  sweeping  clause  to  lessen  the  appropriations  below  the  estimates, 
without  specifying  any  items  of  expenditure  which  he  would  cut  down,  without 
considering  the  absolute  wants  and  sufferings  of  the  country — merely  for  the 
purpose  of  making  a  show  of  economy,  now  upon  his  retirement  from  office,  and 
»of  withdrawing  attention  from  that  profligacy  and  extravagance  that  have  bankrupt- 
ed the  Government.  And  this  is  the  same  Levi  Woodbury,  under  whose  adminis- 
tration of  the  finances  $39,000,000  per  annum  have  been  expended,  without  a 
murmur  against  extravagance  escaping  him.  No,  sir,  I  hope  no  such  illiberal, 
narrow-minded  policy  is  to  be  pursued  here.  As  statesmen  entrusted  with  the 
interests  of  the  country,  it  is  our  bounden  duty  to  see  that  its  honor  and  character 
shall  be  preserved,  and  all  its  main  branches  of  defence  shall  be  sustained;  and  if 
there  is  a  deficiency  in  the  revenue,  growing  out  of  a  long  period  of  misrule,  we 
must  resort  to  other  means — to  the  credit  of  the  Government  ;  relying  upon  the 
future,  for  the  return  of  prosperity,  and  a  replenished  Treasury. 

The  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  estimates  the  expenditures  for  the  year  1841 
as  follows,  viz: 

Civil,  diplomatic,  and  miscellaneous        -  $3,450,740  13 

Military  7,725,440  94 

Naval     -  -  5,445,339  21 

Besides  these,  certain  permanent  appropriations  under  existing  laws  will  be- 
come chargeable  on  the  Treasury  duringthe  nextyear,  in  sums  as  follows : 

For  ordinary  purposes. 
Military  864,000  OG> 

For  other  purposes. 

Public  debt,  including  interest  and  first  instalment  for  the  District  of  Columbia  149,200  00 

Redeeming  Treasury  notes  -  -  4,500,000  00 

Amounting  in  all  to        -------        $22,134,72028 


The  receipts  for  the  same  year,  he  estimates  as  follews  : 

From  customs    -                                                                r  $19,000,00f> 

•From  lands         -             -                                   ' '*»£?'*  3,500,000 

From  miscellaneous         -             -  80,OOO 

Expected  balance  in  the  Treasury  available  on  1st  January,  1841  1,580,855 

Available  from  banks      -                                                      -      .       -  -                      320,000 

Treasury  notes. yet  issuable  under  the  act  of  31st  March,  1840  -                     342,618 


Amounting  in  all  to        -  -        !  -V       L •-•••  •• '         -  $24,723,473 


Thus  leaving  a  balance  on  1st  of  January,  1842,  of  -  $824,000 


These  estimates  of  the  Secretary  have  been  proven  to  be  entirely  illusory  and 
deceptive.  The  tables  in  his  report  have  .all  been  got  up,  worked  out,  and 
arranged,  to  meet  a  conclusion  to  which  he  had  resolved  to  arrive — that  the  ex- 
.penditures  for  the  present  year  should  fall  within  the  receipts.  Heads  of  bureaus 
have  declared  to  gentlemen  on  this  floor,  that,  in  making  their  reports,  they  were 
required  to  cut  down  their  estimates  of  the  appropriations  for  the  public  service, 
so  as  to  make  them  square  with  the  predetermined  estimates  of  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury.  It  is  enough  to  make  one  blush  for  the  degradation  of  his  country, 
when  he  sees  the  Minister  of  Finance  so  far  forgetful  of  the  duties  of  his  station, 
and  the  great  interests  of  the  nation,  as  to  frame  his  report,  not  to  suit  the  wants 
and  exigencies  of  the  country,  but  to  save  his  party  from  the  charge  of  extrava- 
gance, and  himself  from  that  of  mismanagement. 

I  shall  not  attempt  a  detailed  examination  of  the  various  items  of  income  and 
expenditure  for  the  present  year,  submitted  in  the  Secretary's  report;  for  their  fal- 
lacy and  duplicity  have  been  fully  and  ably  exposed.  The  gentlemen  from  New 
York,  Maine,  and  Tennessee,  (Messrs.  BARNARD,  EVANS,  and  BELL,)  have  placed 
this  matter  in  so  clear  a  point  of  view,  that  no  one  can  misunderstand  it  who  is 
not  wilfully  ignorant.  And  the  feeble  attempts  that  have  been  made  to  refute 
their  calculations,  have  tended  to  make  the  conviction  still  stronger,  that  they  are 
founded  on  data  which  cannot  be  controverted. 

As  before  stated,  the  Secretary  estimates  the  receipts  for  the  present  year  at 
$24,380,855,  including  the  Treasury  notes  issuable  under  the  act  of  March  31, 
1840.  Of  this  he  estimates  $19,000,000  from  customs.  Now,  sir,  is  it  reasonable 
to  suppose  that  this  amount  will  be  received  from  customs  during  the  present 
year?  As  to  the  Secretary's  opinion,  what  is  that  worth "?  In  his  annual  report 
of  December,  1839,  he  estimated  the  receipts  from  customs  for  1840  at  $15,000,000, 
and  they  fell  short  $2,000,000 ;  and  I  learn  that  is  nearer  than  he  ever  arrived 
at  the  truth  in  any  financial  calculation.  Is  it  reasonable  to  suppose,  that  the  in- 
come from  customs  for  1841  will  be  six  millions  more  than  in  1840  ?  Why 
should  it  be  1  Gentlemen  say  last  year  was  one  of  great  pressure,  but  that 
trade  is  now  reviving,  and  that  the  importations  during  the  present  year  are  likely 
to  be  heavy.  It  is  true  that,  since  the  election  of  General  Harrison,  confidence 
has  revived,  and  business  begins  to  prosper  ;  but  yet,  in  the  efforts  of  the  banks  to 
resume  specie  payments,  which  is  one  of  the  fruits  of  a  restoration  of  confidence, 
the  pressure  in  the  money-market  must  for  a  time  continue.  It  is  only  gradually, 
that  business,  when  once  depressed,  can  regain  its  former  prosperous  condition. 
And  if  the  sub-Treasury  is  executed  according  to  the  express  provisions  of  the 
law,  as  General  Harrison  is  bound  to  see  that  it  shall  be,  and  one-half  of  the  pub- 
lic dues  after  July  are  collected  in  actual  specie,  it  will  create  an  additional  de- 
mand for  specie,  at  the  very  time  when  the  banks  will  be  endeavoring  to 
strengthen  themselves,  and  when  they  will  be  least  able  to  spare  it.  And  my 
word  for  it,  if  the  subjTreasury  is  executed  according  to  the  letter  of  tlin  law,  you 
will  have  another  revulsion  the  banks  will  again  suspend,  business  will  be  pros- 
trated, confidence  destroyed,  and  the  scenes  of  '37  be  enacted  over  again.  Th« 


6 

gentleman  from  Mississsippi  (Mr.  THOMPSON)  spoke  of  the  large  importations  now 
on  their  way  here  across  the  Atlantic,  the  duties  on  which  were  to  fill  the  Treas- 
ury. Why,  I  suppose,  that  is  always  the  case  about  this  season  of  the  year.  The 
importing  merchants  have  ordered  out  their  spring  supplies,  and  although  your 
ports  may  he  crowded  for  a  short  time,  about  the  latter  part  of  the  winter  or  be- 
ginning of  spring,  yet,  during  the  summer  months,  you  may  scarcely  hear  of  an 
importation.  But  1  think  it  may  be  safely  set  down,  that  the  importations  next 
fall  will  be  very  thin  ;  for  it  must  be  recollected  that,  according  to  the  terms  of  the 
compromise  act,  the  duties  on  all  articles  are  to  come  down  on  the  1st  January 
next,  in  the  proportion  of  one-half  of  their  excess  over  twenty  per  cent.  Then, 
is  it  not  reasonable  to  suppose,  that  the  merchants  will  withhold  their  importations 
till  after  the  1st  January,  except  in  such  small  quantities  as  will  meet  a  ready  sale? 
Most  assuredly  they  will.  Otherwise,  their  stock  remaining  on  hand  could  be  un- 
dersold by  those  importing  after  the  first  of  the  year.  Owing  to  these  circum- 
stances, I  do  not  believe  that  the  income  from  customs  for  1841  is  likely  to  ex- 
ceed that  of  1840.  But  putting  it  at  a  medium  between  $119,000,000,  as  esti- 
mated by  the  Secretary,  and  $13,000,000,  the  amount  received  in  1840,  and  we 
have  $16,000,000,  which  is  a  liberal,  and,  as  I  believe,  an  over  estimate. 

Next  is  the  estimate  of  receipts  from  public  lands,  which  the  Secretary  puts 
down  at  $3,500,000.  This  I  am  willing  to  allow,  although  I  understand  the  Com- 
missioner of  the  General  Land  Office  has  given  it  as  his  opinion  that  it  will  not 
exceed  $2,500,000.  Add  to  this  "  miscellaneous,"  "  expected  balance  available  on 
the  1st  January  next"  the  sum  "  due  from  banks  which  is  likely  to  be  made  avail- 
able," and  "  additional  means  arising  from  Treasury  notes  authorized  to  be  issued 
under  the  act  of  March  31,  1840,"  and  you  have  the  whole  means  for  the  support 
of  Government  for  the  year  1841,  amounting  to  $21,723,473. 

Let  us  now  look  at  the  probable  expenditures;  not  with  reference  to  the  very 
smallest  amount  with  which  the  Government  can  possibly  get  on,  but  with  refer- 
ence to  the  actual  wants  and  necessities,  the  honor  and  character,  of  the  country. 
I  see  from  House  document  No.  265  of  the  last  session,  the  appropriations  for  the 
"civil,  miscellaneous,  and  foreign  intercourse  for  the  year  1840"  amounted  to 
$4,512,545  05;  whereas,  in  the  estimates  for  the  year  1841,  it  is  put  down  at 
$3,450,740  13.  Why  is  this  ?  The  member  from  South  Carolina  (Mr.  RHETT) 
insisted  that  $300,000  would  be  saved  in  consequence  of  the  shortness  of  this  ses- 
sion compared  with  the  last.  But  then,  gentlemen  on  the  other  side  insist,  that  we 
intend  lo  have  an  extra  session.  The  gentleman  from  Mississippi  (Mr.  THOMPSON) 
said  he  could  see  we  were  determined  on  this.  If  we  do  have  an  extra  session,  it 
will  be  a  charge  on  the  Government.  And  if  gentlemen  know  this,  why  not  pro- 
vide the  means  of  meeting  it  1  I  certainly  know  nothing  of  the  purposes  of  Gen- 
eral Harrison,  or  of  those  whose  counsel  he  will  seek;  I  have,  however,  but  little 
doubt  an  extra  session  will  be  inevitable.  General  Harrison  will  find  the  Treasury 
empty,  with  pressing  demands  against  it  daily,  and  nothing  to  discharge  them  with. 
In  that  case,  he  will  be  compelled  to  convene  Congress,  in  order  to  obtain  the  means 
of  carrying  on  the  Government.  In  addition  to  this,  the  country  requires  reform 
at  our  hands — a  speedy  and  thorough  reform.  Millions  of  freemen  are  calling  for 
the  repeal  of  the  odious  sub-Treasury.  A  prostrate  commerce  and  ruined  cur- 
rency require  the  remedial  hand  of  the  Government.  I  speak  only  my  own. 
opinion.  I  believe  an  extra  session  indispensable.  And  if  it  takes  place,  the  ex- 
pense attending  it  will  be  more  than  the  difference  between  that  of  the  present 
session  and  the  last.  I  discover  the  Secretary  has  sent  in  no  estimates  for  the 
outfits  of  ministers  abroad,  and  the  infits  of  those  who  are  already  there.  Does 
he  suppose  General  Harrison  will  not  change  the  diplomatic  corps  ?  Does  he 
suppose  the  honor  and  interests  of  the  country  will  any  linger  be  entrusted  to 
those,  who  now  represent  the  national  foreign  courts  ?  Or  is  this  a  part  of  his 
system  of  retrenchment,  that  it  will  be  better  not  to  recall  ministers,  because  the 


appointment  of  new  ones  will  be  attended  with  expense?  These  extra  charges 
falling  upon  the  civil  list  of  the  present  year,  will  be  fully  equal  to  any  of  the 
last  year,  not  incident  to  this.  I  have  therefore  sufficient  data  for  assuming  that  the 
"  civil,  miscellaneous,  and  foreign  intercourse,"  for  the  present  year,  will  amount 
to  at  least  §4,500,000. 

Next  come  the  estimates  for  the  military  service.  And  these  the  Secretary 
puts  down  at  $7,725,440  94.  Now,,  the  gentleman  from  Maine  (Mr.  EVANS) 
has  so  effectually  exposed  the  imposition  attempted  in  this  estimate,  that  I  am 
sure  there  is  not  one  who  heard  him  that  is  not  fully  satisfied  on  the  subject.  I 
see,  from  the  same  document  to  which  I  have  before  referred,  (No.  265,)  that 
the  appropriations  for  this  branch  of  the  service,  at  the  last  session,  amounted  to 
$8,343,900  83.  And  so  far  from  the  expenses  necessary  for  the  same  being  less 
this  year  than  they  were  the  last,  they  must  necessarily  be  more.  Not  one  word 
is  said  about  the  Florida  war.  House  document,  No.  70,  of  the  present  session, 
is  a  letter  from  the  Secretary  of  War,  containing  an  estimate  of  the  appropria- 
tions necessary  for  the  Florida  war  during  the  year,  of  which,  it  seems,  $250,690  01 
is  due  for  service  already  performed,  as  follows : 

For  arrearages  to  militia  called  into  service  by  the  Governor  of  Florida  -     $221,244  02 

For  pay  of  a  battalion  of  Georgia  volunteers  for  3  months'  service  in  1840         -        :29,446  08 

$250,690  10 


It  seems  that  there  are  already,  in  addition  to  the  regular  army  in  Florida,  two 
thousand  militia,  1,200  of  them  mounted  men,  and  proposed  to  be  increased  to 
1,500;  and,  as  slated  by  the  Paymaster  General,  "  the  President,  having  subse- 
quently sanctioned  this  service,  places  their  claims  on  a  footing  with  those  of  the 
militia  regularly  called  into  the  service  of  the  United  States."  According  to  the 
estimates  submitted  in  the  same  document,  by  the  Paymaster  General,  the  Com'mis- 
sary  General  of  Subsistence,  the  Surgeon  General,  and  the  Ordnance  Department, 
the  expenses  of  paying  and  subsisting  this  force  for  the  year  1841,  in  addition  to 
the  arrearages  already  due,  will  amount  to  $2,385,329  75£,  the  whole  of  which 
will  fall  on  the  year  1841.  And,  what  is  remarkable,  the  chairman  of  the  Com- 
mittee of  Ways  and  Means  had  this  letter  in  his  possession  since  the  17th  De- 
cember, without  suffering  it  to  be  brought  to  public  view  here. 

Mr.  JONES.  I  beg  leave  to  correct  the  gentleman  from  North  Carolina.  The 
letter  was  in  the  possession  of  the  committee,  subject  to  the  inspection  of  all  its 
members.  There  was  no  attempt  on  my  part  to  conceal  it. 

Mr.  R.  But,  sir,  I  insist  it  was  your  duty  to  have  brought  it  before  the 
notice  of  the  House.  In  the  speech  which  you  made  at  the  commencement  of 
this  debate,  in  which  you  attempted  to  sustain  the  views  of  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  in  submitting  your  estimates  of  receipts  and  expenditures  for  the 
year  1841,  you  did  not  include  this  item  of  expense  for  the  Florida  war.  Mr. 
Chairman,  (addressing  the  Chair,)  I  repeat,  it  was  the  duty  of  the  honorable 
chairman  of  the  Ways  and  Means,  in  his  character  as  Chancellor  of  the  Ex- 
chequer, with  this  knowledge  in  his  possession,  to  have  submitted  estimates  for 
this  Florida  war,  when  he  unfolded  his  budget  for  1841,  in  the  speech  with 
which  he  opened  this  debate.  But  he  failed  to  do  so  ;  and  the  first  notice  we 
have  of  it,  rs  in  a  letter  laid  on  our  desks,  from  the  Secretary  of  War  to  the  chair- 
man of  the  Ways  and  Means,  dated  December  17,  1840.  Here,  then,  is  an  ad- 
ditional charge  falling  upon  the  year  1841  of  $2,385,329,  not  even  alluded  to  by 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  ;  which,  added  to  the  estimates  submitted  by  him, 
amounts  to  the  sum  of  $10,110,770  69  ;  and  which,  added  to  the  appropriations 
of  last  year  for  the  same  service,  amounts  to  $10,729,230  58. 

But,  says  the  gentleman  from  South  Carolina,  (Mr.  RHETT,)  the  Florida  war 
will  probably  soon  be  terminated.  Probably  soon  be  terminated !  This  is  the 


language  we  have  heard  for  years.  It  has  long  been  the  theme  of  Executive  re- 
ports, and  of  the  despatches  of  commanders-in-chief.  Let  a  few  miserable 
squaws  be  taken,  or  starving  old  men  surrender  themselves,  and  it  is  immediately 
heralded  throughout  the  land  that  the  power  of  the  Indians  has  been  destroyed  ; 
that  they  are  all  coming  in  ;  and  that  the  war  will  soon  be  at  an  end.  And  the 
next  account  we  hear  is,  that  blood  has  been  flowing  in  torrents,  and  houses  have 
been  wrapt  in  flames.'  For  every  brave  destroyed,  two  seem  to  spring  up  in  his 
place.  We  have,  within  the  last  day  or  'two,  heard  of  the  capture  of  60  or  70 
Indians;  but  how  often  has  this  been  the  case  heretofore  1  It  is  impossible  to 
estimate  the  number  of  Indians  in  Florida.  Years  ago,  it  was.  said  there  were 
only  a  few  hundred  ;  and  although  we  have  been  destroying  them  all  the  while, 
yet  the  work  of  murder  and  ravage  has  continued.  As  soon  as  the  army  relaxes 
its  operations,  they  become  emboldened,  leave  their  inaccessible  haunts,  and  com- 
mence anew  their  course  of  pillage  and  death.  You  may  suppose  there  is  not  an 
Indian  in  Florida,  you  may  suddenly  withdraw  your  army,  and  the  first  thing  you 
hear,  may  be,  that  the  Indians  have  reappeared  in  all  their  power.  Sir,  the  Flor- 
ida war  is  not  at  an  end,  nor  is  it  soon  likely  to  be.  Sam  Jones  and  Tiger-tail 
yet  lead  their  merciless  bands  through  the  everglades  of  that  ill-fated  region  ;  to- 
day doing  "  the  deed  of  death,"  and  to-morrow  concealed  in  the  impenetrable 
swamps.  The  bloody  Mickasukies  yet  rove  through  the  forests  of  Florida,  leav- 
ing death  and  desolation  in  their  track.  To  legislate  with  a  view  to  the  early  dis- 
bandment  of  the  army  in  Florida,  is  to  leave  your  own  countrymen  exposed  to  the 
horrors  of  savage  warfare.  To  do  this  through  a  false  economy,  is  to  sell  the 
blood  of  your  citizens  for  money.  It  is  to  surrender  a  portion  of  your  territory  to 
the  savage,  and  to  confess,  in  the  face  of  the  world,  that  a  predatory  band  of 
Seminoles  has  successfully  resisted  all  the  boasted  power  of  the  Government.  To 
stop  the  war  at  this  stage,  is  to  compromise  the  honor  of  the  country.  You  must, 
you  are  compelled  to,  prosecute  it  to  a  successful  issue.  I  therefore  take  it  for 
granted  that,  in  estimating  the  appropriations  for  the  military  service,  you  must 
include  the  $2,385,329  proposed  in  the  letter  from  the  Secretary  of  War. 

It  seems  that  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  in  estimating  the  reductions  for 
the  present  year,  cuts  down  the  expenses  of  the  Indian  department  $174,000  be- 
low the  appropriations  of  last  year.  I  know  not  whether  this  is  on  account  of  there 
being  funds  in  the  hands  of  agents  yet  unpaid,  on  account  of  outstanding  ap- 
propriations, or  whether  it  is  in  pursuance  of  that  system  of  gradual  retrenchment 
recommended  in  his  report ;  for  it  will  be  seen  by  reading  the  report  of  the  Sec- 
retary, that  he  undertakes  to  read  Congress  a  lecture  on  economy,  after  having 
exhausted  the  Treasury  by  his  extravagance  and  mismanagement.  And,  in  point- 
ing out  the  causes  of,  and  grounds  for,  future  retrenchment,  he  says  that  "  fewer 
Indians  remain  to  be  removed,"  Certainly  there  are  fewer  to  be  removed.  But  are 
there  fewer  that  ought  to  be  removed  this  year  than  were  removed  the  last  ?  Judg- 
ing from  the  rapid  settlement  of  the  Western  States,  and  the  consequent  pressure 
around  the  Indians  remaining,  I  should  suppose  there  were  more.  I  appeal 
to  gentlemen  from  the  Western  States — from  Indiana,  Illinois,  Michigan,  Mis- 
souri— and  I  ask  them,  if  they  are  not  anxious  to  have  the  Indian  title  to  the 
lands  in  their  States  extinguished,  and  to  have  those  Indians  removed  to  the  West? 
Are  they  not  every  day  becoming  more  inconvenient  to  the  whites,  and  the  whites 
to  them  ?  And  yet  the  Secretary  seems  to  think  this  system  of  Indian  relations 
will  soon  be  at  an  end,  and  the  expense  attending  it  will  be  lessened  every  year. 
This  is  a  most  absurd  idea'.  The  Indian  relations  of  this  country  will  constitute  a 
permanent,  standing  charge  upon  this  Government  for  one  hundred  years  to  come. 
And  as  the  population  of  the  country  increases,  and  its  frontier  is  extended,  tho 
more  complicated  and  expensive  will  our  Indian  relations  become.  This  must  be 
the  case,  till  the  vast  region  from  the  Mississippi  to  the  Pacific  is  settled  by  the 
white  man,  and  not  an  Indian  is  left  remaining. 


The  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  further  says,  in  pursuance  of  his  pretended 
anxiety  for  retrenchment,  that  the  pensions  are  diminished  by  deaths.  Not  so 
very  much,  sir.  Some  of  the  old  revolutionary  pensioners  die  off,  to  be  sure,  and 
I  am  sorry  for  it.  I  wish  they  could  live  forever.  They  serve  as  a  connecting 
link  between  the  past  and  the  present.  They  would  serve  to  remind  us  of  our 
departure  from  the  pure  and  virtuous  principles  of  the  Revolution.  And  these  old 
men  hold  on  to  life  well.  The  same  physical  vigor  which  enabled  them  to  perform 
such  deeds  of  daring  in  the  Revolution,  yet  preserves  to  them  health  and  strength. 
The  gentleman  from  Maine,  (Mr.  EVANS,)  demonstrated  that,  if  they  had  died  off 
last  year  at  the  rate  of  ten  per  cent.,  it  would  not  reduce  the  pension  appropria- 
tion more  than  $200,000 ;  whereas,  the  truth  is  they  did  not  die  in  near  so  large 
a  proportion.  But,  sir,  it  must  be  recollected  that,  whilst  the  pension  list  is  an- 
nually lessened  by  death,  it  is  still  annually  increasing  from  additions  to  the  list.  . 
Look  at  the  annual  reports  of  the  Commissioner  of  Pensions,  and  you  will  see  that 
this  is  the  case.  Look  at  the  quantity  of  bills  on  your  table  for  placing  additional 
names  on  the  pension  roll — many  and  most  of  which  will  probably  pass,  as  soon 
as  time  can  be  obtained  to  pass  upon  then).  Owing  to  these  facts,  I  have  no  doubt 
but  that,  for  the  next  five  years,  the  additions,  with  the  arrearage-pay  in  such 
cases,  will  be  equal  to  the  diminution  from  deaths. 

Assuming,  then,  that  the  military  service  will  cost  as  much  this  year  as  it  did 
last,  which  was  $8,343,900  83,  and  adding  the  $2,385,329  stated  to  be  necessary 
by  the  Secretary  of  War  for  the  Florida  service,  and  you  have  an  aggregate  of 
$10,729,230,  for  the  military  service,  which  will  be  found  indispensably  necessary. 

Next  come  the  estimates  for  the  navy,  which  the  Secretary  puts  down  at 
$5,445,399  21.  Although  I  believe  this  to  be  much  too  small,  yet,  for  the  pres- 
ent, I  will  assume  it  as  a  sufficient  sum.  There  is  one  item,  however,  of  $150,000 
for  the  pay  of  navy  pensioners,  which  must  be  added,  for  which  a  bill  has  already 
passed  this  House,  and  for  which  the  Secretary  has  sent  in  no  estimate,  but  which 
will  be  a  charge  on  the  year  1841.  But,  says  the  gentleman  from  South  Caroli- 
na, we  do  not  know  that  the  Senate  will  pass  the  bill.  Perhaps  it  may  not ;  for, 
until  that  body  is  purged,  which  it  is  soon  likely  to  be,  I  believe  it  capable  of  any 
injustice.  But  that  is  not  the  question.  The  question  is,  is  it  right  to  pass  it? 
Shall  we  legislate  -here  under  a  supposition  that  one  of  the  branches  of  the  Le- 
gislature will  not  do  its  duty  ?  You  might  as  well  strike  out  of  your  estimates  any 
other  appropriation  for  the  public  service,  (the  army  for  example,)  because  we 
are  not  certain  the  Senate  will  pass  it.  You  are  in  duty  bound  to  pay  these  navy 
pensioners.  You  have  squandered  a  fund  which  was  properly  theirs,  and  you  are 
bound,  by  every  consideration  of  honor,  to  pay  them  what  is  strictly  theirs  ;  and 
by  every  principle  of  gratitude,  to  reward  them  for  their  services.  This  $150,000, 
added  to  the  Secretary's  estimates,  will  make  the  naval  service  for  the  year 
amount  to  $5,595,399. 

According  to  the  data  I  have  assumed,  and  I  have  placed  them  at  the  lowest 
probable  amount,  the  items  of  expenditure  for  the  present  year  will  appear  as 
follows,  viz  : 

Civil,  miscellaneous,  and  foreign  intercourse  -       $4,500,000 

Military  service,  including  Florida  war    -  j  -"      10,729,230 

Navy  pensions  -  -  , "  -  150,000 

Naval  service     -  -  -  ...   -'  -         5,595,399 

Appropriations  made  for  the  service  of  the  year  1841,  by  former 

acts  of  Congress  .--.--  1,013,200 
Balances  of  appropriations  made  in  1840  and  previously,  standing 

over  on  the   1st  January,  1841,  and  which  will   be  a  charge  on 

the  Treasury  in  1841,  after  deducting  so  much  as  may  remain 

not  called  for,  and  standing  over  at  the  close  of  1841     -  2,000,000 


10 

Relief  of  the  corporate  cities  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  per  act 
of  26th  May,  1836,  $139,200;  and  public  debt  payable  at  the 
Treasury,  per  act  of  3d  March,  1817,  $10,000  -  149,200 

Required  to  finish  public  buildings,  according  to  the  estimates  of 

the  architect  -  400,000 

Treasury  notes  and  interest,  allowing  for  $500,000,  which  may  not 

come  in  during  the  year  -  4,350,000 

Amounting  in  the  whole  to  -  -  $28,887,029 

which  is  the  amount  necessarily  chargeable  upon  the  year  1841. 

Here,  then,  with  a  probable  income  of  $21,723,473,  we  must  meet  an  almost 
inevitable  expenditure  of  $28,887,029.  Sir,  how  can  you  do  it,  without  borrow- 
ing money  ?  You  will  be  compelled  to  borrow  ;  and,  whether  you  do  it  by  Treas- 
ury notes,  or,  loan,  how  are  you  to  repay  it,  unless  you  raise  the  duties  on  imports, 
or  resort  to  direct  taxation?  And  how  are  you  to  sustain  the  heavy  expenditures 
of  coming  years,  unless  you  regulate  your  tariff  to  meet  the  demands  upon  the 
Treasury  1  But,  exclaims  the  gentleman  from  Mississippi,  (Mr.  THOMPSON,)  the 
cry  of  the  Whigs  has  been  reform,  and  by  reform  he  understands  a  retrenchment 
in  the  expenditures.  I  can  also  inform  the  gentleman  that  it  means  honesty  in 
the  expenditures.  It  is  not  so  much  the  amount  expended,  of  which  we  have 
complained,  as  the  manner  in  which  it  has  been  expended  :  paying  $450  a  day 
for  steamboats,  $20  a  cord  for  wood,  purchasing  splendid  furniture  and  silver 
spoons  for  mud  boats,  paying  high  salaries  to  crowds  of  loungers  attached  to  your 
custom-houses,  giving  high  and  expensive  jobs  and  contracts  to  political  favorites, 
&.c.  It  is  such  corruption  as  this,  of  which  we  have  so  muchjcomplained,  and 
which  we  have  promised  to  reform.  If  the  money  which  has  been  collected  had 
been  spent  for  the  interest  of  the  country,  in  disciplining  our  army,  increasing 
our  navy,  completing  our  fortifications,  erecting  harbors,  and  other  conveniences 
of  commerce,  <fcc.,  why,  then,  sir,  we  could  not  have  complained.  But,  what  is 
remarkable,  whilst  this  vast  expenditure  of  money  has  been  going  on  for  the  last 
four  years,  ranging  from  thirty  to  forty  millions  annually,  all  the  interests  and  de- 
fences of  the  country  have  been  languishing  and  going  to  ruin. 

Well  now,  sir,  in  legislating  to  meet  the  wants  of  the  Government,  I  feel  bound 
to  look  to  the  future  as  well  as  to  the  present.  By  profligacy,  mismanagement, 
and  corruption,  all  the  great  defences  of  the  country  have  gone  to  wreck.  The 
present  rate  of  duties  will  not  yield  a  sufficient  income  to  put  the  country  in  a 
state  of  defence,  and  to  repair  the  evils  of  the  last  twelve  years  of  misrule.  In 
addition  to  the  deficit  of  about  seven  millions  of  dollars  for  the  present  year,  there 
is  about  $5,580,000,  consisting  of  sums  and  annuities  payable  to  Indians,  and 
amounts  pledged  to  be  invested  in  safe,  permanent  stocks  for  their  benefit,  the  in- 
terest on  which  we  are  now  paying.  Then,  there  is  the  navy  pension  fund  which 
has  been  squandered  or  invested  in  worthless  stocks,  amounting  to  $1,200,000, 
which  you  are  bound  to  make  good.  Due  on  trust  funds,  other  than  Indian, 
.$500,000.  Old  funded  and  certificate  debt  $100,000.  Debts  of  the  cities  in  the 
District  of  Columbia,  assumed  by  the  Government,  with  interest,  $1,750,000. 
To  these  are  to  be  added  claims  on  account  of  Indian  affairs,  growing  out  of  the 
Florida  war,  allowed  or  to  be  allowed  by  the  departments,  or  pending  before 
Congress,  say  $5,000,000 ;  although  I  learn  from  gentlemen  better  acquainted 
with  the  subject  than  I  am,  they  will  reach  nearer  $10,000,000.  Other  claims 
now  before  Congress,  and  which  have  been  accumulating  for  the  last  two  years, 
for  want  of  time  to  act'  on  them,  allowing  for  those  that  may  be  rejected,  say 
$2,000,000  ;  and  I  also  learn  that  these  latter  will  probably  be  double  that  sum. 
These  amount  in  the  whole  to $16,280,000,  of  permanent  debt  falling  upon  the  next 
administration  ;  and  which,  added  to  the  deficit  of  seven  millions  in  the  revenue  of 
ihe  present  year,  shows  an  almost  certain  liability  of  more  than  $23,000,000  by 


11 

the  Government,  over  and  above  the  current  expenditures.  And  this,  too,  with  a 
revenue  continually  decreasing  by  the  gradual  operation  of  the  compromise  act. 

Now,  sir,  I  am  for  abiding  by  the  spirit  of  the  compromise  act.  The  circum- 
stances under  which  it  was  passed,  require  that  no  violence  should  be  done  to  the 
feelings  of  either  of  the  great  interests  that  were  the  parties  to  it.  That  act  was  the 
voluntary  offering  of  patriotism,  to  save  the  effusion  of  human  blood.  It  snatched 
the  uplifted  sword  from  the  hand  of  the  tyrant,  who,  with  tiger  ferocity,  was 
raving  and  thirsting  for  the  blood  of  freemen.  It  stands  as  an  enduring  monu- 
ment of  the  patriotism,  the  wisdom,  and  the  magnanimity  of  Kentucky's  distin- 
guished son.  And  I  am  free  to  admit,  that  if  the  public  sentiment  of  either  of 
the  two  great  interests  that  were  parties  to  that  compromise,  should,  with  any 
thing  like  unanimity,  insist  upon  its  remaining  inviolate  and  untouched,  it  would 
be  unwise  to  disturb  it.  It  is,  however,  for  the  majority  here,  in  their  wisdom, 
to  examine  and  decide  what  may  be  the  wishes  of  the  country,  and  the  feelings  of 
the  two  great  sections,  in  regard  to  the  modification  of  this  measure.  But,  in 
submitting  this  measure  to  the  test  of  public  feeling  in  the  two  great  interests  that 
were  parties  to  it,  reference  must  be  had  to  the  calm  and  unbiassed  wishes  of  the 
popular  mind,  and  not  to  the  wild  ravings  of  party  madness.  No  one  man  here 
has  a  right  to  speak  for  the  whole  North  or  the  whole  South ;  neither  has  the  del- 
egation of  any  one  State  a  right  to  speak  for  its  entire  section.  It  is  for  the  ma- 
jority here,  in  their  discretion,  and  upon  their  responsibilit}',  to  judge  of  the  pub- 
lic will,  upon  a  dispassionate  survey  of  the  whole  question.  -If  two  parties  enter 
into  a  covenant,  for  the  observance  of  which  their  honor  and  faith  may  be  plighted, 
neither  has  the  right  to  violate  its  provisions,  whilst  the  other  insists  upon  their 
enforcement.  But  certainly  they  are  not  estopped  from  modifying  it  by  mutual 
agreement.  And  so  with  the  compromise  act  of '32.  If  the  North  or  the  South, 
with  any  thing  like  unanimity,  insist  upon  its  inviolability,  I,  for  one,  should  be 
opposed  to  touching  it.  But  if,  by  mutual  agreement,  they  are  willing  to  modify 
it  now,  where  can  be  the  objection? 

This  brings  me  to  the  immediate  consideration  of  the  proposition  of  the  gentle- 
man from  New  York,  (Mr.  BARNARD,)  to  impose  a  duty  on  silks  and  wines,  which 
are  now  admitted  free  of  duty.  I  think  this  proposition  presents  a  medium,  on, 
which  the  moderate  on  both  sides  of  the  question  may  meet  with  safety.  I  am 
aware  that  the  ultra  tariff  men  may  oppose  it,  because  they  may  hope  that,  in  re- 
modelling the  system  after  the  expiration  of  the  limit  fixed  to  the  compromise 
act,  they  will  be  enabled  to  exempt  luxuries  from  any  duty,  and  collect  the  whole 
of  the  duties  from  articles  of  necessity,  and  thereby  protect  the  same  articles  of 
domestic  manufacture.  They  may  suppose  that,  by  our  imposing  duties  on  lux- 
uries now,  they  will  find  it  more  difficult  to  exempt  them  hereafter.  I  can  assure 
gentlemen  entertaining  these  opinions,  that  the  South,  so  far  as  I  am  acquainted 
with  its  feelings,  will  never  quietly  submit  to  this  discrimination.  We  are  for 
equal  benefits,  and  for  equal  burdens.  We  never  will  consent  that  articles  of 
luxury,  which  are  consumed  by  the.  rich,  shall  be  imported  free  of  dut3',  and  arti- 
cles of  necessity,  consumed  by  the  poor,  shall  be  burdened  with  all  the  means  of 
taxation,  merely  for  the  benefit  of  the  manufacturers.  That  has  been  the  source 
of  all  our  struggles  and  difficulties  heretofore.  It  came  well  nigh  once  plunging 
this  country  in  all  the  horrors  of  civil  commotion.  By  all  the  exciting  associations 
connected  with  that  gloomy  period,  I  entreat  gentlemen  who  yet  cherish  the  fa- 
vorite idea  of  discrimination  and  protection,  to  abandon  it  forever.  You  cannot 
enforce  it  without  endangering  the  stability  of  the  Union. 

Then  there  are  ultra  men  on  the  other  side,  who  oppose  this  measure  simply 
because  it  is  an  imposition  of  duty,  without  reference  to  the  objects  on  which  it 
is  intended  to  operate,  or  without  looking  at  the  real  cause  of  that  long  and  uni- 
form opposition  which  was  waged  by  the  South  against  the  tariffs  of  '24  and  '28. 
The  gentleman  from  Mississippi  (Mr.  THOMPSON)  seems  perfectly  horrified  at 


12 

this  new  tariff,  as  he  calls  it,  and  asks  if  this  same  measure  of  a  duty  on  imports 
has  not  long  been  the  great  cause  of  complaint  and  difficulty  between  the  South 
and  the  North.  I  can  answer  his  question,  and  I  tell  him,  no.  The  South 
never  complained  of  the  revenue  for  the  support  of  the  Government  being  col- 
lected from  a  duty  on  foreign  articles. 

Mr.  THOMPSON  begged  leave  to  explain.  He  said  he  did  not  mean  to  intimate 
that  the  South  was  opposed  to  raising  a  revenue  from  customs.  What  he  said 
was,  that  a  tax  on  foreign  importations  iiad  been  the  great  cause  of  complaint  on 
the  part  of  the  South. 

Mr.  R.  A  tax  on  foreign  importations !  Exactly,  sir.  That  is  the  same 
thing.  I  still  take  issue  with  the  gentleman.  I  deny  that  the  South  has  ever 
complained  that  the  revenue  for  the  support  of  the  Government,  wa§  raised  by  a 
tax  on  foreign  importations. 

The  South  well  knows,  and  always  has  known,  that  it  is  the  only  practicable 
mode  of  supporting  the  Government,  among  a  people  as  sensitive  as  ours  are  on 
*he  subject  of  direct  taxation.  It  is  the  principle  of  discrimination,  for  the  pro- 
tection of  the  manufacturers  in  a  certain  section,  of  which  the  South  has  always 
complained.  A  protection  which,  while  it  increases  the  cost  of  consumption  to 
all  sections  alike,  yet  diffuses  its  advantages  in  the  vicinity  of  the  manufactures 
of  the  North,  without  bringing  any  correlative  blessings  to  us  of  the  South.  The 
South  is  not  only  willing  to  contribute  its  revenue  and  its  wealth,  but  its  blood,  if 
need  be,  in  support  of  the  Government  and  the  Union.  The  object  contempla- 
ted by  the  proposition  of  my  friend  from  New  York,  is  the  very  thing  that  we 
liave  always  contended  for.  The  North  has  heretofore  refused  to  grant  it  to  us — 
they  would  not  concede  it  in  the  compromise  act — but  now,  if  I  understand  them 
aright,  they  are  willing  to  yield  it,  and  can  we  hesitate  to  accept  it  1  My  elo- 
quent friend  from  South  Carolina,  (Mr.  THOMPSON,)  who  addressed  us  so  ably 
the  other  day,  has  put  this  matter  in  its  proper  light.  He  has  proven,  from  the 
record,  that  an  equalisation  of  duties,  upon  the  protected  and  the  unprotected 
articles,  was  the  great  object  contended  for  by  the  distinguished  Southern  states- 
men who  mingled  in  the  political  conflicts  of  '32  and  '33.  Sir,  we  are  now  es- 
topped, virtually  estopped  from  objecting  to  this  proposition.  I  thank  my  friend 
from  South  Carolina  for  the  gallant  manner  in  which  he  has  lliet  this  question  at 
the  very  threshold.  It  came  with  a  peculiar  fitness  from  him.  He  comes  from 
a  region  of  political  darkness,  though  still  from  an  oasis  in  a  desert  waste.  His 
position  is  one  of  high  moral  sublimity.  Despire  all  the  efforts  of  persecution  at 
home,  he  has  stood  up  for  years,  almost  single-handed  and  alone,  as  the  unterri- 
fied  advocate  of  liberty  and  truth.  With  a  heroic  courage,  he  has  refused  to 
quail  before  power  and  proscription,  and  whether  at  home  or  on  this  floor,  he 
has,  with  a  giant's  arm,  shaken  off  his  assailants,  as  "  the  lion  would  shake  the 
dew  drops  from  his  mane."  He  says  he  is  aware  that  the  demagogue  cry  of 
Tariff!  Tariff!  will  be  raised  for  the*  purpose  of  exciting  popular  prejudice 
against  him  at  home.  That  is  probable.  I  am  aware  that,  humble  as  1  am,  I 
shall  be  subjected  to  the  same  charge.  But  my  friend  (General  THOMPSON) 
need  give  himself  no  uneasiness  on  that  account.  Calumny  and  misrepresenta- 
tion are  the  common  lot  of  all  who  pursue  the  path  of  duty,  regardless  of  conse- 
quences. Denunciation  by  the  wicked,  is  the  price  which  honesty  and  patriot- 
ism always  have  to  pay,  for  the  esteem  and  approbation  of  the  virtuous  and  the 
good.  I  repeat  it,  my  friend  from  Sou;h  Carolina  deserves  the  thanks  of  the 
country  for  the  fearless  manner  in  which  he  has  met  this  question.  It  will  en- 
dure in  the  records  of  the  country,  as  a  lasting  memorial  of  his  patriotism,  and 
will  constitute  the  richest  legacy  he  can  leave  to  his  children  who  are  to  succeed 
him.  The  tribute  of  the  country's  praise  is  also  due  to  my  friend  from  Georgia 
(Mr.  NISBET)  for  his  able  and  eloquent  speech  on  this  subject.  I  was  equally 
pleased  with  the  cogency  of  his  argument,  and  the  pathos  of  his  eloquence.  With 


13 

such  advocates  the  South  has  nothing  to  fear  ;  and  in  such  hands  the  interest  o^ 
the  whole  country  will  be  safe. 

The  gentleman  from  Mississippi  (Mr.  THOMPSON)  asked  how  it  was  that  the 
North  was  now  willing  to  impose  a  tax  on  luxuries;  for,  said  he,  this  has  always 
been  a  favorite  measure  with  the  South,  and  it  never  before  has  been  able  to  ob- 
tain it.  Charity  compels  me  to  believe,  it'ls  from  a  principle  of  patriotism,  that 
our  .Northern  brethren  are  now  willing  to  yield  this  ;  but  whether  it  be  from  a 
sense  of  justice,  or  from  some  other  motive,  it  matters  not  to  us.  So  we 
obtain  what  we  desire,  it  is  a  matter  of  indifference  what  may  be  the  motive  of 
concession.  What  would  be  thought  of  the  prudence  of  any  man  in  private  life, 
who  would  refuse  to  receive,  by  the  voluntary  concession  of  an  enemy,  that,  which 
he  had  been  striving  to  obtain*  and  without  success,  for  years?  But  with  all  the 
gentleman's  horrors  at  the  prospect  of  a  disturbance  of  the  tariff  question,  he 
seems  perfectly  willing  to  go  into  it,  provided  he  can  be  allowed  to  adjust  it  upon 
his  own  terms.  He  distinctly  stated,  that  when  the  proper  time  arrived,  he  wa& 
willing  to  go  into  a  revision  of  the  whole  system.  Ay,  sir,  and  when  will  the 
proper  time  arrive  1  It  certainty  must  have  arrived,  when  it  is  necessary  to  do 
something,  in  order  to  replenish  the  Treasury.  I  fear  if  this  matter  is  postponed, 
we  shall  not  have  the  pleasure  of  the  gentleman's  assistance.  Unless  the  people 
of  Mississippi  change  their  minds  as  easily  as  certain  Southern  gentlemen  have 
changed  their  grounds  upon  this  very  subject,  the  honorable  gentleman  is"  not 
likely  to  he  troubled  with  the  burdens  of  legislation  here  for  some  time' to  come. 
The  gentleman  went  on  to  tell  of  the  great  injury  that  would  result  to  the  cotton- 
growing  interest  of  his  State,  by  an  imposition  of  20  per  cent,  on  French  silks 
and  wines.  -And  yet  he  seems  willing  to  sacrifice  this  great  interest  of  his  con-  . 
stituents,  provided  he  can  be  allowed  to  settle  the  matter  in  his  own  way.  He 
says,  take  off  the  duties  altogether  from  necessaries,  and  impose  them  on  lux- 
uries. That  for  every  cent  taken  off  from  sugar  he  will  vote  to  put  two  on 
wines  ;  for  every  cent  off  from  salt,  he  will  impose  two  on  silk,  &c.  Then,  ia 
order  to  raise  revenue  sufficient  for  the  Government,  you  must  go  higher  than  20 
per  cent. ;  and  in  propo/yon,  according  to  the  gentleman's  reasoning,  you  sacri- 
fice the  interests  of  Mississippi. 

It  is  very  evident,  from  the  indications  here,  as  well  as  from  the  movements 
out  of  doors,  that  there  are  two  classes  of  opponents  to  this  measure,  operated 
upon  by  different  views.  The  first  class  consists  of  those  who  have  been 
trying  to  mix  up  the  tariff  question  with  the  conflicts  of  part}7  ;  who  have  declared, 
in  anticipation,  that  the  policy  of  the  coming  administration  would  be  a  resort  to 
a  high  tariff,  and  who  no  doubt  hope  to  effect  a  counter-revolution  in  the  South, 
by  getting  up  an  excitement  on  this  subject.  They  are  astonished  that  the 
Northern  whigs  should  ask  for  nothing  more  than  an  equalisation  of  duties,  and" 
now  discover  that  one  of  their  hobbies  is  about  to  tumble  down  beneath  them. 
They  no  doubt  hope  that,  by  a  little  postponement,  the  ultra  tariff  men  of  the 
North  may  be  emboldened  to  ask  for  higher  protective  duties,  and  that  thus  the 
ends  of  party  may  be  answered.  To  gentlemen  actuated  by  this  motive  I  would 
say,  the  day  of  humbugs  has  passed.  Reason  and  truth  have  regained  theft- 
dominion.  The  same  spirit  of  conciliation  that  carried  us  so  successfully  through 
the  late  contest,  will  still  continue  to  guide  and  direct  our  course. 

The  other  class  of  opponents  to  this  proposition,  consists  of  the  ultra  enemies  of 
the  tariff  system,  who  are  uncompromisingly  opposed  to  it  in  every  shape  and" 
form  ;  and  who  are  conscientiously  opposed  to  it  on  principle.  They  look  forward 
to  the  time  when  the  duties  on  the  protected  articles  are  to  come  off  entirely,  and 
the  whole  revenues  of  the  Government  are  to  be  collected  on  the  unprotected 
articles.  And  they  no  doubt  suppose  that  an  imposition  of  duty  on  luxuries  now, 
will  be  presenting  an  obstacle  to  the  consummation  of  their  favorite  designs  here- 
after. If  I  understood  the  gentleman  from  Virginia,  (Mr.  WISE,)  he  expressed 


14 

the  opinion  that  the  whole  of  the  duties  for  the  support  of  Government  should  be 
collected  from  articles  of  luxury,  and  that  articles  of  necessity  should  come  in 
free.  Sir,  this  is  entirely  a  Utopian  scheme.  It  is  consistent  with  neither  possibili- 
ty nor  justice.  I  would  appeal  to  Southern  gentlemen,  who  are  actuated  by  this  ob- 
ject, and  ask  them  if  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  we,  who  have  for  years  been 
unable,  by  remonstrance  and  even  resistance,  to  obtain  a  modification  of  this  ques- 
tion to  suit  us — that  we,  I  say,  shall  be  able  to  dictate  terms  to  the  North?  We 
are  the  weaker  portion  ;  so  far  as  the  mere  exercise  of  power  is  concerned,  we  are 
at  the  mercy  of  the  balance  of  the  Union.  As  a  Southern  man,  I  approve  of  the 
proposition,  because  I  conceive  it  to  be  our  interest  to  do  so.  It  not  only  gives 
us  all  we  ought  to  ask — it  not  only  puts  both  sections  on  an  equality — but  it  gives 
us  as  much  as  we  may  ever  expect  by  possibility  to  obtain.  I  go  for  the  duties 
on  luxuries,  as  an  opponent  of  the  protective  system. 

It  is  true  the  duties  on  the  protected  articles,  although  no  higher  than  on  the 
unprotected,  will  benefit  our  Northern  brethren  engaged  in  manufactures,  more 
than  it  will  the  South.  We  pursue  agriculture,  because  it  is  more  congenial  to 
our  tastes,  and  conducive  to  our  interests  ;  whilst  the  people  of  the  North,  for  the 
same  reasons,  pursue  manufacturing.  And  shall  we  grudge  to  them  the  small 
benefit  they  derive  from  the  duties  on  those  foreign  articles,  that  come  in  com- 
petition with  theirs,  when  we  are  not  injured  by  it  1  It  is  imitating  the  dog  in 
the  manger,  to  deprive  them  of  a  benefit,  without  profiting  ourselves.  Besides, 
even  if  we  had  the  power,  which  we  have  not,  would  it  be  justice  to  make  a  dis- 
crimination, which  would  curtail  their  profits,  whilst  it  would  not  increase  ours? 
The  very  ground  on  which  we  so  much  complained  of  them,  in  the  high  tariffs  of 
'24  and  '28,  was,  that  they  were  oppressing  Southern  interests  for  the  benefit  of 
Northern  manufactures.  And  it  would  be  worse,  if  we  had  it  in  our  power,  to  op- 
press Northern  manufactures,  without  benefiting  Southern  interests. 

The  gentlemen  from  Mississippi  and  South  Carolina,  both  took  the  ground  that 
a  duty  on  French  silks  and  wines  would  disturb  our  commercial  relations  with 
France,  and  that,  as  Southern  cotton  was  exchanged  for  those  articles,  it  would  to 
that  extent  operate  as  a  drawback  on  Southern  interests.  Now,  even  if  this  were 
so,  which  I  am  sure  it  is  not,  do  gentlemen  see  where  *th*is  argument  would  lead 
them  ?  Sir,  it  is  protection,  the  very  protection  which  we  have  so  long  complain- 
ed of.  The  argument  of  the  Northern  manufacturers  has  been  this:  we  have  large 
amounts  invested  in  manufactures;  if  yeu  equalise  the  duties,  if  you  reduce  them 
on,  the  protected  articles  as  low  as  they  should  be  on  the  unprotected,  you  bring 
foreign  manufactures  in  competition  with  ours,  and  thus  destroy  our  profits.  They 
have  insisted,  that  whilst  the  Government  was  exercising  the  constitutional  power 
of  laying  a  duty  for  revenue,  it  should  do  so  with  reference  to  the  protection  of 
their  interests.  And  now  we  hear  the  same  argument  used  on  this  floor  by  mem- 
bers from  the  South.  What  is  the  tenor  of  the  argument  used  here  1  It  is  this  : 
We  have  large  capital  invested  in  growing  cotton  ;  if  you  equalise  the  duties,  if 
you  raise  them  on  the  unprotected  articles,  as  high  as  they  are  on  the  protected, 
you  disturb  our  commercial  relations  with  those  countries,  for  whose  productions 
our  cotton  is  exchanged,  and  thus  destroy  our  profits.  This  is  a  principle  we  must 
not  recognise.  We  are  the  weaker  portion,  and  if  we  use  the  argument  now,  it 
may  hereafter  be  turned  against  us  to  our  injury  and  destruction. 

But,  sir,  I  deny  the  position,  that  a  duty  on  silks  and  wines  will  disturb  our  re- 
lations with  France.  I  deny  that  it  will  operate  injuriously  to  the  South.  Why 
should  gentlemen  harp  so  much  upon  France  ?  It  is  not  intended  to  make  a  dis- 
crimination between  France  and  other  countries.  Not  one-half  the  silks  and 
wines  imported  into  this  country  come  from  France,  and  we  propose  to  subject 
them  all  to  the  same  restriction.  Gentlemen  have  reasoned  on  the  ground  that 
the  imposition  of  20  per  cent,  upon  silks  and  wines,  will  either  bring  about  pro- 
hibitory duties  on  American  cotton  in  France,  or  such  high  countervailing  duties, 


15 

as  will  raise  the  price  of  cotton  so  high  in  that  country,  that  the  people  will  not 
be  able  to  use  cotton  fabrics  as  an  article  of  clothing ;  and  that  thus  a  market 
for  18  millions  of  dollars  worth  of  cotton  annually  would  be  cut  off.  This  was  the 
argument  of  the  member  from  South  Carolina,  (Mr.  RHETT.)  Is  this  argument  a 
sound  one  1  1  learn  that  the  duty  on  American  cotton  in  France,  at  the  present 
time,  is  nearly  as  high  as  we  propose  to  rake  it  here,  on  their  silks  and  wines.* 
Besides,  they  are  compelled  to  take  our  cotton  ;  they  cannot  get  it  elsewhere  ;  and 
the  employment  to  labor,  which  is  afforded  by  the  manufacture  of  cotton  fabrics 
in  France,  is  too  immense  to  be  attempted  to  be  destroyed  by  prohibitory  duties. 
And  suppose  the  French  Government  should  lay  an  additional  duty  of  20  per  cent, 
upon  American  cotton,  as  gentlemen  seem  to  dread — what  of  that?  It  might 
slightly  enhance  the  price  of  the  article  to  the  French  importer  and  manufacturer; 
but  then,  a  very  great  portion  of  the  cotton  imported  into  France  is,  as  I  learn, 
manufactured  into  laces  and  other  fabrics  of  the  most  costly  materials  ;  where  the 
cost  of  the  raw  material  forms  but  a  very  small  item  in  the  value  of  the  fabrics 
when  ready  for  market.  An  additional  cost  of  20  per  cent,  upon  the  price  of 
the  raw  material,  could  scarcely  be  seen  in  the  price  of  the  manufactured  article. 
So  that  France  cannot  prohibit  our  cotton  without  cutting  off  one  of  the  main 
sources  of  employment  for  her  labor,  and  throwing  loose  upon  the.  country 
thousands  of  indigent  and  discontented  artizans,  ready  to  pull  down  her  Govern- 
ment and  institutions.  If  she  raises  the  duty  on  our  cotton,  in  an  equal  ratio  with 
our  impost  upon  her  silks  and  wines,  it  will  only  increase  the  cost  to  the  manufac- 
turer there,  which  will  hardly  be  felt  by  the  consumer.  But  the  gentleman 
from  Mississippi  (Mr.  THOMPSON)  seems  to  think  that  a  countervailing  duty  in 
France  of  20  per  cent,  upon  our  cotton  would  have  the  effect  of  bringing  down 
the  price  of  the  article  in  the  same  proportion.  He  made  a  calculation  of  the 
amount  of  exportation  from  Mississippi,  and  the  consequent  loss  that  would  befall 
her.  He  says,  if  her  twenty  millions  of  dollars  of  exports  are  subject  to  a  duty 
of  20  per  cent.,  the  price  of  them  in  those  countries  where  they  are  sent,  must,  in 
a  similar  ratio,  come  down,  and  that  thus  Mississippi  would  receive  20  per  cent, 
less  in  return  than  she  otherwise  would.  If  the  gentleman  reasons  upon  the 
theory  of  separating  Mississippi  from  the  rest  of  the  world,  as  it  will  be  recollect- 
ed he  did  in  stating  his  argument,  he  must,  to  be  consistent,  go  still  further, 
and  suppose  that  she  trades  with  some  country  exclusively,  that  is  also  separated 
from  the  rest  of  the  world.  If  Mississippi  traded  with  France  alone,  and  France 
purchased  cotton  from  no  other  country  than  Mississippi,  then  a  duty  of  20  per 
cent,  upon  the  cotton  of  the  latter  might,  to  some  extent,  bring  down  its  price. 
But  the  gentleman  is  reasoning  upon  false  premises  altogether.  In  arranging 
our  commercial  relations,  the  entire  Union  must  be  looked  to  as  a  unit,  and 
our  legislation  should  net  he  with  a  view  to  the  aid  of  sectional  interests,  but  with 
a  view  of  diffusing  an  average  of  benefits  and  of  burdens,  as  near  as  may  be,  in 
every  section  alike.  The  gentleman  should  recollect,  that  not  one-fifth  of  the 
cotton  exported  is  sent  to  France.  England  is  the  great  cotton  market  of 
the  world  ;  tho  price  in  other  countries  must  be  regulated  by  that  of  Liverpool 
and  London.  France  must  pay  as  much  for  it  as  it  is  worth  in  England,  or 
s\\e  cannot  get  it.  A  tax  upon  our  cotton,  will  be,  to  that  extent,  a  tax  upon 
her  own  citizens.  But  is  it  reasonable  to  suppose  that  France  will  impose 
these  countervailing  duties  upon  our  cotton,  when  she  already  imposes  a  duty 
of  about  17  per  cent,  upon  it,  and  subjects  our  tobacco  to  a  Government 
monopoly,  which  is  equal,  as  I  learn,  to  a  duty  of  1400  per  cent.  ?  My  friend 
from  Virginia  (Mr.  WJSE)  admitted  that,  taking  an  average  for  the  last  ten  or 
twelve  years,  the  balance  of  trade  against  this  country,  and  in  favor  of  France, 

*  The  duty  on  American  cotton  in  France  is  20  francs  per  100  Killogrammes — which  is  $3  75 
per  200  Ibs.     At  an  average  of  12  cents  per  pound,  this  would  be  a  duty  of  about  17  per  cent. 


16 

had  been  about  10  per  cent  annually.  Hearn  from  others  who  are  conversant  with 
such  subjects,  that  it  has  been  at  least  20  per  cent.  This,  according  to  the  laws  of 
trade,  has  to  be  paid  off  in  specie  ;  and,  to  that  extent,  it  operates  as  an  annual 
drain  upon  the  specie  basis  of  our  currency.  As  some  compensation  for  this,  we 
should  make  this  balance  of  trade  against  us  conducive  to  supplying  our  coffers 
with  revenue.  And  suppose  France  should  impose  prohibitory  or  high  counter- 
vailing duties  on  our  cotton — let  her  do  it  ;  we  shall  see  who  will  be  most  in- 
jured, she  or  we.  Does  it  become  the  legislators  of  a  free  people  to  hesitate  to 
do  their  d-.ity,  for  fear  of  th6  spiteful  resentment  of  other  countries?  I  feel  in- 
dignant when  I  hear  the  argument  used  here,  that  we  must  not  supply  our  coffers 
with  revenue  in  the  only  practicable  mode  to  which  we  can  resort,  for  fear  that 
other  countries  may  take  umbrage,  and  attempt  retaliation.  National  pride  and 
national  honor  revolt  at  the  idea  of  hesitating  here,  to  see  how  the  exercise  of 
legislative  duty  will  be  received  by  other  countries.  Has  France  any  right  to 
expect  her  productions  to  enter  our  ports  free,  whilst  ours  are  subjected  to  heavy 
exactions  in  her  ports?  But  it  is  idle  to  talk  about  prohibitory  or  high  retaliatory 
duties  on  Southern  staples.  Nations,  in  regulating  their  commercial  intercourse, 
are  governed  by  their  interests.  Why  did  not  England  prohibit  our  cotton  during 
the  operation  of  the  high  tariff  of  '28?  Because  the  spindles  and  the  looms  of 
Birmingham  and  Leeds  would  have  stopped  still  in  a  moment.  Because  hund- 
reds of  thousands  of  poor  laborers  are  dependent  on  its  manufacture  for  a  support. 
If  England  were  to  prohibit  our  cotton,  she  would  then  have  chartism  with  a 
vengeance.  An  army  of  infuriated  paupers  would  soon  be  on  their  march  to  Lon- 
don. The  same  influences  operate  in  France,  to  the  extent  to  which  she  con- 
sumes our  cotton. 

But  the  gentleman  from  South  Carolina  (Mr.  RHETT)  seems  to  think  that  a 
duty  of  20  per  cent  upon  French  silks  and  wines,  will  operate  as  a  prohibition  of 
the  importation  of  those  articles  into  this  country.  And  after  assuming  this 
position,  he  went  on  to  -show  the  disastrous  consequences  to  the  cotton-growing 
region,  resulting  from  it.  Well,  this  is  a  very  convenient  way  of  proving  a  prop- 
osition. Let  this  system  of  logic  once  be  adopted,  and  it  will  dispense  with  all 
mental  labor  for  the  future.  It  puts  all  men  upon  a  level  in  argument.  The 
member  has  made  a  discovery  much  greater  than  that  of  Archimides.  The 
latter  said,  give  him  a  fulcrum  for  his  lever  and  he  would  lift  the  globe.  The 
member  from  South  Carolina  has  already  found  a  fulcrum  for  his  lever,  by  which 
he  turns  over  the  whole  world  of  argument  in  a  moment.  And  that  is,  to  give 
him  his  premises,  and  he  will  prove  any  proposition,  confute  any  theory.  A  duty 
of  20  percent,  prevent  the  importation  of  silks  and  wines!  Why  does  not  a 
duty  of  40  per  cent,  prevent  the  importation  of  broadcloths?  And  the  case  is 
much  stronger  than  this,  in  favor  of  the  non-prohibition  of  American  cotton  in 
France  ;  for  whilst  we  manufacture  broadcloths  in  this  country,  and  could  obtain 
them  at  home,  (although  of  not  so  good  a  quality,  and  that  is  the  cause  of  their 
importation,)  yet  in  France  they  raise  no  cotton,  and  cannot  eel  it  elsewhere  than 
from  us.  Why  does  not  the  enormous  duty  exacted  upon  our  tobacco  in  France, 
Germany,  and  Holland,  prevent  its  importation  there  ?  Because  the  wealthy  will 
enjoy  the  luxuries  of  life,  and  the  greater  the  difficulty  of  procuring  them,  the 
greater  luxuries  they  become.  My  friend  from  South  Carolina  (Gen.  THOMPSON) 
proved  conclusively,  that  a  moderate  increase  of  price  on  luxuries,  never  lessens 
their  consumption.  Would  any  man  who  wears  broadcloth,  cease  to  do  so  if  it 
were  to  cost  20  per  cent,  more  than  at  present?  Would  any  lady  who  wears  silk, 
cease  to  do  so  if  it  were  to  advance  20  per  cent,  in  value  ?  Would  any  one  wha 
rrow  indulges  himself  with  costly  wines,  cirink  less  if  they  were  to  cost  20  per  cent, 
more  ?  It  appears  to  me  tlrat  no  one  who  is  at  all  acquainted  with  the  human 
character,  and  the  habits  and  customs  of  our  people,  can  for  a  moment  believe 
that  a  duty  of  20  per  cent,  on  luxuries  will  lessen  their  consumption.  And  if 


17 

perchance  it  should  do  it,  to  the  extent  of  20  per  cent  even,  it  will  then  serve  to 
restore  the  balance  of  trade  between  this  country  and  France,  and  thus  prevent 
the  annual  exportation  of  our  specie  to  supply  that  balance.  So  it  roust  be  of  some 
advantage  in  either  point  of  view. 

The  gentleman  from  Virginia,  (Mr.  WISE,)  who  addressed  us  so  ably  and  elo- 
quently on  this  question,  argued  at  great  length  to  prove  that  the  compromise  act 
of  '32  was  a  settlement  of  the  question,  having  all  the  binding  obligation  of  a 
solemn  compact;  obligatory  in  respect  to  faith  and  honor,  not  only  until,  but 
after,  July  '42.  And  yet,  a  few  moments  afterwards,  he  admitted  that  it  might 
be  revised,  when  it  was  necessary  to  raise  revenue  for  an  economical  administra- 
tion of  the  Government.  This  is  my  view  exactly.  We  both  agree  that  there  is 
a  deficit  of  revenue  of  at  least  ten  millions  ;  and  yet  he  refuses  to  apply  his  prin- 
ciples to  the  emergency,  when  it  has  arrisen.  He  remarked  that  the  admitting 
the  unprotected  articles  free  of  duty,  was  one  of  the  advantages  secured  to  the 
protective  system  in  the  compromise  act.  I  know  that ;  and  if  he  is  so  much  op- 
posed to  the  protective  policy,  why  does  he  not  now  attempt  to  deprive  its  friends 
of  this  advantage,  by  equalising  the  duties,  and  thus  prevent  the  imposition  of 
higher  duties  on  the  protected  articles?  He  admitted  we  were  the  weaker  party, 
and  warned  us  to  stand  on  the  defensive.  Would -it  not  be  better  for  us  to  anti- 
cipate the  enemy,  and  put  it  beyond  his  power  to  injure  us?  The  gentleman 
from  Virginia  admitted  that  this  compromise  act  can  be  revised  without  a  breach 
of  faith,  whenever  there  is  a  necessity  to  raise  revenue  for  an  economical  admin- 
istration of  the  Government.  The  gentleman  also  admitted  that  there  was  n©w  a 
deficit  often  millions.  Then  1  call  upon  him,  as  a  Southern  man,  as  an  anti-pro- 
tective man,  to  unite  with  me  in  preventing  the  impositions  of  further  duties  on 
the  protected  articles,  and  let  us  equalise  the  duties  by  imposing  them  on  luxu- 
ries. But  the  gentleman  insisted  that,  by  moving  in  this  business  now,  we  afford  a 
pretext  to  the  tariff  men  to  raise  the  duties  to  20  per  cent,  on  that  class  of  pro- 
tected articles  now  paying  less  than  that  rate.  Sir,  when  that  is  necessary  for 
revenue,  1  for  one  am  willing  to  do  it.  I  am  for  equalisation  of  duties.  That  is 
the  platform  on  which  the  South  should  stand.  We  are  the  weaker  party ;  and  if 
we  insist  on  discrimination  now,  we  are  preparing  a  "  chalice"  which  we  may 
hereafter  have  "  commended  to  our  own  lips." 

The  gentleman  from  Virginia  labored  to  prove  that  the  present  was  only  a 
temporary  and  not  a  permanent  deficiency ;  and  that  as  soon  as  confidence  is  re- 
stored, and  trade  revives,  the  revenue  under  the  compromise  act  will  be  sufficient 
to  meet  the  expenditures  of  the  Government.  I  differ  with  him  entirely.  I  have 
attempted  to  show  that  there  is  a  debt  of  more  than  twenty  millions,  that  will  fall 
upon  the  next  four  years,  and  this  must  be  paid  in  addition  to  the  current  expend- 
itures. But  I  believe  that,  if  we  were  entirely  out  of  debt,  in  the  present  ru- 
inous and  defenceless  condition  of  the  country,  the  revenue  would  not  be  suffi- 
cient to  meet  the  necessary  expenditures.  Sir,  the  public  money  has  been  squan- 
dered, wastefully  squandered,  upon  favorite  partisans,  and  by  faithless  agents. 
We  must  not  only  provide  for  the  present,  but  for  the  neglect  and  misrule  of  the 
past,  and  the  exigencies  of  the  future.  Why,  what  is  our  present  condition? 
Our  nrmy  brought  into  disrepute — our  navy  going  to  wreck — our  fortifications 
deserted — without  barracks,  without  foundries,  without  harbors,  without  every 
thing,  in  fact,  which  is  calculated  to  prove  our  pride  in  peace,  and  our  defence 
in  war. 

I  shall  not  shrink  from  a  discharge  of  duty  for  fear  of  the  demagogue  cry  that 
I  am  in  favor  of  a  splendid  and  expensive  Government.  Those  who  know  me, 
know  that  I  am  no  friend  to  consolidation,  or  to  an  unnecessary  strengthening  of 
the  powers  of  the  General  Government.  I  believe  a  great  crisis  is  approaching 
in  the  history  of  the  world,  and  that  it  behooves  the  United  States  of  America  to 
put  herself  in  a  situation  to  protect  our  flag  and  our  commerce  abroad,  and  our 
2 


18 

free  institutions  at  home.  Although  1  am  opposed  to  standing  armies  in  time  of 
peace,  in  the  spirit  and  for  the  purpose  for  which  they  are  kept  up  in  the  mon- 
archies of  Europe,  yet  I  do  believe  that  our  army  should  be  put  in  such  a  state 
of  discipline  as  to  form  a  nucleus,  around  which  the  military  feeling  of  the  nation 
may  rally,  whenever  our  yeomanry  shall  have  to  leave  their  firesides  and  their 
homes,  in  order  to  defend  them  from  a  foreign  foe.  The  civilized  world  is  on 
the  eve  of  a  great  convulsion.  Throughout  the  Slates  of  Europe,  liberal  princi- 
ples, ready  to  burst  forth  into  action,  are  suppressed  by  the  sword  and  bayonet; 
national  differences  are  widening  every  day  ;  the  wisdom  and  forbearance  of 
statesmen  can  scarcely  repress  the  fervor  of  excitement ;  and  after  a  peace  of 
twenty-five  years,  three  millions  of  armed  men  stand  ready  to  shed  each  other's 
blood.  When  the  collision  does  take  place,  it  will  be  to  tho  political  world  what 
the  shock  of  the  earthquake  is  to  the  natural ;  and  thrones  and  dominions,  prin- 
cipalities and  powers,  will  be  shaken  to  their  base.  Can  we,  intimately  connect- 
ed as  we  are  getting  to  be  in  our  commercial  relations,  with  the  great  Powers  of 
Europe — can  we  expect  to  steer  clear  of  difficulty  1  And  if  we  maintain  an  armed 
neutrality,  as  we  ought,  and  no  doubt  should  attempt  to  do,  ought  we  not  to  pre- 
pare ourselves  for  such  a  position  ? 

Gentlemen  may  say  this  is  all  conjecture.  If  so,  let  us  look  at  something  a  little 
more  tangible.  Every  one  must  admit  that  our  present  relations  with  England 
augur  any  thing  else  than  peace  and  harmony.  The  bayonet  of  the  Briton  is 
gleaming  on  our  Northeastern  border,  and  a  portion  of  the  American  soil  is  now 
trodden,  forcibly  trodden,  by  foreign  feet.  Sir,  this  is  no  Northern  question — no 
sectional  question — but  a  great  national  question,  involving  national  honor  and 
national  rights.  And  if  force  does  become  necessary  to  vindicate  the  national 
character,  we  of  the  South,  as  well  as  the  North,  will  not  only  pour  out  our  reve- 
nue, but  we  will  pour  out  our  blood.  England  has  also  taken  possession  of  the 
mouth  of  the  Columbia  river,  the  great  outlet  through  which  the  commerce  of  pos- 
terity will  go  freighted  to  the  bosom  of  the  Pacific,  and  in  a  territory  which  we 
claim  as  indisputably  ours.  We  cannot  much  longer  submit  to  these  aggressions; 
and  when  we  do  act,  we  should  be  in  a  position  to  sustain  ourselves  with  honor. 
Let  it  not  be  said,  I  am  endeavoring  to  get  up  a  war-excitement  against  England. 
1  shall  be  the  last  one  to  insist  upon  war,  whilst  the  country  is  in  its  present  de- 
fenceless condition.  Mr.  Chairman,  with  all  my  admiration  for  the  greatness  and 
the  glory  of  England,  yet  I  look  with  fearful  apprehension  upon  the  dangers  of  a 
collision  with  that  gigantic  Power.  With  an  ambition  more  grasping  than  that  of 
Rome  in  her  palmiest  days,  she  is  extending  her  Briarean  arms  into  every  region  of 
this  mighty  globe.  Her  flag  is  floating  in  every  breeze,  her  ships  are  covering  every 
sea.  Universal  dominion  seems  to  be  her  object  and  her  aim.  Suppose  we  should 
be  precipitated  into  a  war  with  England — what  would  be  our  condition  1  Our 
army  reduced  to  a  handful,  and  they  in  the  swamps  of  Florida,  held  at  bay  by  the 
savage.  Our  navy  consisting  of  but  a  few  frigates,  and  still  fewer  ships,  and  they 
unfit  for  service.  Our  fortifications  ynmanned  and  decaying  for  w<tnt  of  repairs. 
Without  barracks,  without  ordnance,  without  munitions  of  war;  and,  what  is  still 
worse  than  all  these,  with  an  empty  Treasury  and  no  means  of  supplying  it. 
With  twenty  thousand  veterans  on  our  Northern  border,  England  would  invade  our 
territory  and  lay  our  frontiers  in  ruins.  With  a  fleet  of  steam  ships,  she  would 
ravage  our  coasts,  and  lay  our  cities  in  ashes.  By  throwing  a  few  regiments  of 
her  manumitted  West  India  slave  troops  upon  our  Southern  coast,  she  would  ex- 
cite a  domestic  insurrection  there.  Her  machinations  would  soon  reach  the  sixty 
thousand  Indian  warriors  that  are  congregated  on  our  Western  border,  whose  yell 
would  resound  from  the  Mississippi  to  the  Alleganies.  This  Indian  population  is 
already  restless  and  discontented.  With  a  lingering  eye  they  look  back  upon  the 
d-eserted  graves  of  their  fathers  ;  and  with  feelings  exasperated  and  almost  goaded 
jnto  madness,  by  the  infliction  of  their  acccumulatcd  wrongs,  they  are  prepared  for 


19 

a  sudden  outbreak,  whenever  there  is  the  least  prospect  of  success.  Thus  hemmed  in 
on  all  sides — on  the  North,  on  the  West,  on  the  Eastern  and  Southern  coasts — what 
would  be  our  situation  1  Gentlemen  may  say  these  dangers  are  all  imaginary,  and 
that  we  should  triumph  over  all  these  difficulties.  I  know  it,  sir ;  I  know  it. 
American  patriotism  and  American  prowess  would  save  us  in  the  end,  and  expel 
the  invader  from  our  soil.  But  how  much  suffering  would  it  cost  us — how  much 
blood  would  it  shed  ?  How  many  a  widowed  heart  would  it  wring  with  anguish — 
how  many  an  orphan  would  it  leave  parentless  in  the  world?  In  the  mean  time, 
what  would  become  of  our  commerce,  which  is  extending  itself  into  every  part  of 
the  world?  Exposed  to  the  power  and  rapacity  of  our  enemies,  our  little  navy 
would  be  shattered  to  pieces,  and  our  commerce  driven  from  the  ocean. 

I  said  I  was  opposed  to  large  standing  armies  in  time  of  peace.  Not  so  with  a 
navy.  There  are  associations  connected  with  our  gallant  navy,  which  should  en- 
dear it  to  the  heart  of  every  American  patriot.  Its  heroic  exploits  during  the  last 
war,  taught  England  what  she  had  to  fear  from  American  valor,  even  on  her  own 
favorite  element.  And  owing  to  the  relative  position  of  our  country  to  the  European 
i  owers,  if  we  ever  have  a  protracted  war  with  any  of  them,  it  must  be  a  maritime 
war  mainly.  What  protection  could  our  small  navy  afford  to  our  commerce,  against 
the  numbers  and  the  strength  of  theirs?  Look  to  England,  France,  Russia,  even 
Turkey  and  Egypt ;  they  are  increasing  their  naval  power  daily.  The  Mediter- 
ranean is  literally  shingled  over  with  the  fleets  of  the  European  Powers.  The  East 
and  West  Indian  Archipalagoes  are  covered  with  English  ships,  and  the  commercial 
system  of  China  and  the  East,  in  danger  of  being  entirely  revolutionized,  or  put  on  a 
new  footing.  France  is  sending  her  hostile  naval  armaments  almost  to  our  own 
doors.  One  day  we  see  her  battering  down  the  castle  of  St.  Juan  de  Ulloa  in  Mexi- 
co, and  the  next  blockading  the  port  of  Buenos  Ayres.  And  all  this,  too,  whilst, 
according  to  the  official  organ,  as  quoted  by  my  friend  from  Kentucky,  (Mr.  DAVIS,) 
there  is  not  a  port  beyond  our  own  shores,  where  American  commerce  can  float  in 
safety.  England  and  France  and  Russia  are  building  steam-ships  daily ;  not  one 
or  two,  by  stinted  appropriations  as  we  are,  but  whole  fleets  of  them. 
Mr.  GJUNNELL.  Yes,  building  them  in  this  country. 

Mr.  R.  Yes,  sir,  building  them  in  our  own  country — here  in  our  own  ship  yards, 
to  be  sent  back  perhaps  at  some  future  time,  for  the  purpose  of  battering  down 
our  cities  and  destroying  our  commerce. 

With  these  facts  before  me,  I  deem  it  the  part  of  prudence  to  prepare  for 
danger  before  '  it  arrives.  Let  us  organize  our  army,  increase  it  sufficiently  to 
man  our  fortifications,  and  provide  military  posts  for  our  frontier  defence.  Let 
us  erect  barracks  for  our  soldiers,  and  establish  foundries  for  the  manufacture  of 
munitions  of  war.  Above  all,  let  us  increase  our  navy,  for  the  protection  of  our 
commerce,  and  send  the  American  flag  to  float  in  triumph  in  every  part  of  the 
world.  Let  us  build  steam-ships  for  the  protection  of  our  harbors  and  depots,  and 
for  the  defence  of  our  coasts.  More  especially  ought  we  to  do  this,  since  it  is  be- 
ginning to  be  admitted,  that  the  application  of  steam  to  vessels  of  war  is  likely  to 
change  the  whole  system  of  naval  warfare  ;  and  that  vessels  of  this  description 
are,  above  all  others,  calculated  for  coast  defence.  In  order  to  do  this,  we 
must  have  money — the  only  practicable  way  of  obtaining  money,  is  from  a  duty 
on  imports  ;  and  in  laying  this  duty,  reference  should  be  had  to  the  great  leading 
interests  of  the  country;  the  benefits  should  be  diffused  and  the  burdens  equalised. 
This  can  be  done  only  by  an  equalisation  of  duties;  and  that  is  what  is  contem- 
plated by  the  proposition  of  my  friend  from  New  York. 

And,  Mr.  Chairman,  in  organizing  our  revenue  system,  I  take  the  distinct 
ground  now,  that  I  am  in  favor  of  raising  sufficient  revenue  from  customs,  for  the 
support  of  the  Government,  exclusive  of  that  arising  from  the  sales  of  the  public 
lands.  That  I  am  in  favor  of  distributing  among  the  States.  I  shall  not  go  into 
a  discussion  of  this  question  now ;  when  the  subject  fairly  comes  up,  I  will  give 


20 

my  views  upon  it.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that  whilst  I  am  for  providing  for  our  na- 
tional defence,  I  am  also  in  favor  of  providing  for  the  moral  and  intellectual  im- 
provement of  our  people,  and  extending  to  them  the  means  of  prosperity  and 
comfort,  as  far  as  is  consistent  with  the  limits  of  the  constitution.  As  to  the  lands 
ceded,  you  are  bound  by  the  deeds  of  cession  to  dispose  of  them  "  for  the  com- 
mon use  and  benefit  of  all  the  States;"  and  as  to  those  acquired  by  purchase,  you 
may,  in  your  discretion,  "  dispose"  of  them  as  you  may  think  most  conducive  to 
the  public  good.  Let  us,  then,  dispose  of  them  by  distributing  them  among  the 
States,  to  be  applied  by  them,  either  to  education,  internal  improvement,  the  pay- 
ment of  their  debts,  or  to  any  other  purpose  they  may  prefer.  Thus,  whilst  pro- 
viding for  our  national  defence,  we  shall  be  extending  the  blessings  and  conve- 
nience! of  domestic  prosperity  and  happiness. 

I  was  surprised  at  the  zeal  with  which  my  friend  from  Virginia  (Mr.  WISE) 
opposed  this  proposition  of  a  distribution  of  the  proceeds  of  the  public  lands.  I 
had  always  supposed  that  this  was  a  cardinal  principle  of  the  Whig  creed,  and 
whilst  I  do  not  presume  to  arraign  that  gentleman  for  his  opinion,  yet  I  do  not 
recognise  in  him  the  right  to  arraign  me  for  mine.  When  he  says  no  States-right 
man  can  go  for  this  system,  I  put  in  "  a  plea  to  the  jurisdiction."  Upon  the 
question  of  State  rights,  humble  as  my  course  has  been,  I  am  ready  to  compare 
it  with  his,  without  any  fear  of  suffering  by  the  comparison.  He  attempted  to 
cast  ridicule  upon  the  proposition  of  distribution,  by  calling  it  a  proposition  to 
"  distribute  a  deficiency."  Why,  no  one  ever  thought  of  distributing  a  revenue 
from  this  source  before  it  had  accrued — for  suth  a  thing  would  be  an  absurdity — 
although  they  might  wish  to  make  provision  for  its  distribution  after  collection. 
But  there  is  not  so  great  an  absurdity  in  "distributing  a  deficiency,"  after  all,  if 
he  ?<n7/have  it  so.  It  can  only  be  done,  by  distributing  the  burdens  necessary  to 
supply  a  deficiency  ;  and  as  we  can  do  that  only  by  a  duty  on  imports,  we  pro- 
pose to  distribute  the  burdens,  by  an  equalisation  of  duties,  which  will  operate 
equally  on  all  sections  of  the  Union. 

The  gentleman  from  Virginia,  in  the  course  of  his  remarks,  did  me  the  honor 
to  refer  to  me  as  a  nullifier,  who  stood  ready  to  oppose  the  march  of  an  invading 
army  to  South  Carolina,  in  the  dark  period  of '32.  He  appealed  to  my  State- 
rights  principles,  and  warned  rue  against  what  he  is  pleased  to  call  a  revival  of 
the  tariff,  lest  the  same  stirring  scenes  may  again  return.  Yes,  sir,  1  was  a  nulli- 
fier then  ;  and  no  matter  what  may  have  been  the  motives  of  those  who  were  most 
prominent  in  that  contest,  for  myself,  I  must  say,  I  was  actuated  by  the  youthful 
impulse  of  patriotic  feeling.  And  when  he  referred  to  that  dark  period,  when  the 
cloud  of  civil  commotion  was  seen  in  the  distant  horizon,  he  touched  a  chord  in 
my  bosom,  which  vibrated  throughout  my  frame.  It  revived  some  of  the  most 
stirring  associations,  which  have  not  been  destroyed  by  the  lapse  of  years.  And 
I  know  not  whether  I  was  most  excited,  at  the  thrilling  picture  which  he  drew  of 
our  determination  to  maintain  our  rights  at  the  hazard  of  our  blood  ;  or  mortified 
when,  a  moment  after,  I  reflected  upon  the  present  time-serving  policy  of  those 
men,  on  whom  all  the  enthusiastic  admiration  of  my  youthful  heart  was  once  lav- 
ished. Yes,  I  was  then  in  favor  of  State  interposition — not  from  any  factious 
opposition  to  the  execution  of  the  laws — not  from  any  wish  to  dismember  this 
glorious  and  happy  Union — not  that  I  cared  for  the  fine-spun  theories  and  sophis- 
tical arguments  with  which  this  question  was  mystified  and  enveloped  ;  but  because 
South  Carolina  was  struggling  against  the  same  system,  which  I  believed  lo  be 
founded  in  unconstitutional  oppression.  The  most  aggravating  circumstance  of 
that  event,  was  not  the  attempt  of  the  Genrral  Government  to  execute  its  laws; 
but  the  cold  and  heartless  scorn  which  prevailed  in  a  certain  section — the  careless 
indifference  with  which  it  was  threatened  to  force  freemen  into  submission  at  the 
point  of  the  bayonet  ;  and  that,  too,  when  a  tyrant,  raving  and  thirsting  for  blood, 
urged  on  by  the  demon  of  revenge  that  was  gnawing  at  his  heart,  with  as  insatiable 


21 

an  appetite,  as  that  of  the  vulture  that  preyed  upon  the  liver  of  the  fabled  Prome- 
theus ;  when  this  tyrant,  I  say,  was  profanely  swearing  "  by  the  Eternal"  that  he 
would  hang  on  a  gallows  as  high  as  Haman's,  men  whom  I  then  believed  to  be 
actuated  by  the  purest  impulses  of  patriotism.  Gentlemen  may  say  this  was  a  youth- 
ful indiscretion  ;  still  it  was  the  honest  conviction  of  my  heart.  And  1  yet  believe 
that  there  must  be  a  conservative  principle  in  the  States  of  this  Union,  to  arrest 
the  progress  of  federal  usurpation,  when  the  dangers  of  resistance  become  prefer- 
able to  further  submission.  In  other  words,  I  believe  that  the  action  of  a  State, 
in  her  highest  sovereign  capacity,  establishes  a  relation  between  such  State  and 
the  Federal  Government,  as  forbids  the  idea  of  force  by  the  latter,  until  con- 
ciliation and  compromise  have  been  tried  in  vain.  And  that  when  collision  does 
take  place,  that  such  action  on  the  part  of  a  State,  prevents  the  relation  between 
that  State  and  the  General  Government,  of  rebel  on  the  one  hand,  and  sovereign  on 
the  other.  It  might  be  a  cause  of  war;  but  the  idea  of  the  General  Government 
punishing  as  rebels,  men  shielded  by  State  authority,  is  consolidation.  It  is 
making  State  rights — about  which  we  hear  so  much — nothing  more  than  those 
revolutionary  rights  which  are  possessed  by  serfs  of  Russia  or  the  slaves  of  Mus- 
cat. This,  sir,  in  a  few  words,  is  my  idea  of  State  interposition.  Call  it  nullifi- 
cation, revolution,  or  what  you  will,  still  I  believe  it  to  be  the  great  balance-wheel 
of  our  system — the  great  conservative  principle  that  is  to  preserve  the  federative 
feature  of  our  Government,  and  to  save  it  from  consolidation. 

Sir,  I  do  not  wish  to  be  misunderstood  on  this  subject.  I  do  not  insist  that  nul- 
lification is  a  remedy,  under  the  constitution,  necessarily  peaceful  in  its  operation. 
I  have  no  idea  that  a  collision  between  a  State  and  the  General  Government, 
was  ever  contemplated  by  the  framers  of  the  constitution,  or  provided  for  in  that 
instrument.  But  I  insist  that,  when  such  collision  does  take  place,  that,  owing  to  the 
peculiar  character  of  our  institutions,  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  constitution  is  a 
compact  between  sovereign  States,  it  establishes  the  relation  between  the  contend- 
ing parties  of  belligerent  sovereigns,  who  are  to  be  governed  and  restricted  by  the 
laws  of  nations.  Neither  do  I  believe  that  the  General  Government  is  rendered 
powerless  for  action,  whenever  a  State  declares,  that  an  act  of  Congress  shall  be 
inoperative  within  its  limits.  Whenever  that  contingency  happens,  it  becomes  a 
matter  of  consideration  with  the  General  Government,  whether  it  will  yield  its 
construction'of  the  law  to  that  of  the  State — whether  it  will  pause  temporarily,  for 
the  sake  of  conciliation,  as  I  believe  it  should — or  whether  it  will  immediately  en- 
force its  own  construction  by  physical. force.  I  can  hardly  conceive  a  case  of  State 
resistance  to  national  laws,  where  physical  force  would  not  necessarily  follow ; 
and,  rny  word  for  it,  no  State  will  ever  nullify  a  law  of  Congress,  until  it  has  pre- 
pared itself  to  fight.  But  here  is  the  great  value  and  advantage  of  State  interpo- 
sition :  when  force  is  used  by  the  General  Government,  and  open  war  follows,  as 
it  necessarily  must,  the  citizens  of  a  State,  acting  under  State  authority,  when 
taken  with  arms  in  their  hands,  cannot  be  hung  as  traitors  against  the  nation,  but 
must,  from  the  nature  and  genius  of  our  institutions,  be  treated  as  prisoners  of 
war.  It  never  can  be,  that  men,  acting  in  obedience  to  State  authority,  are  to  be 
placed  on  the  same  footing  with  a  lawless  band  of  individuals  assembled  together 
for  the  purpose  of  arresting  the  execution  of  the  laws,  without  having  any  political 
organization  er  legal  sanction  whatever. 

I  am  aware  there  is  still  a  lingering  prejudice  in  a  certain  quarter  against  all  who 
have  ever  favored  this  principle  of  Slate  interposition.  1  can  assure  my  Whig 
friends  here,  that  it  is  in  a  great  measure,  to  the  energy,  the  daring,  and  patrioticjen- 
thusiasm  of  the  advocates  of  State  rights,  that  our  victory  in  the  Southern  States  is 
to  be  attributed  in  the  late  contest.  The  error  of  our  Northern  friends  consists  in 
this  :  they  identify  Slate  rights  with  South  Carolina,  and  the  course  and  conduct 
of  South  Carolina  politicians.  There  never  was  a  greater  mistake.  No  one  can 
feel  more  indignant  than  we  do,  at  witnessing  the  despotic  and  high-toned  federal 


22 

measures,  to  which  a  profession  of  State  rights  is  made  subservient  in  that  quarter. 
It  would  be  as  unjust  to  condemn  the  Christian  religion  for  all  the  cruellies  and 
persecutions  committed  in  its  name,  during  the  dark  ages,  as  to  condemn  State 
rights  for  all  the  political  heresies  and  federal  oppressions  that  are  now  practised 
in  their  name. 

But  I  am  told  by  gentlemen  on  the  other  side,  that  the  principles  I  advocate  are  in 
opposition  to  State  rights.  It  has  become  very  fashionable  with  that  parly  of  late,  to 
talk  of  State  rights.  Men  who  have  been  the  uniform  supporters  of  the  most  federal 
administration  that  ever  existed  in  this  country,  now,  when  they  are  driven  from 
power,  begin  to  prate  about  State  rights  and  the  constitution.  The  gentleman 
from  Mississippi,  (Mr.  THOMPSON,)  from  Alabama,  (Mr.  HUBBARD,)  and  from 
New  York,  (Mr.  VANDERPOEI.,)  delivered  to  us  homilies  upon  economy,  and  the 
duty  of  keeping  within  the  limits  of  the  constitution.  Why,  what  do  those  gentle- 
men know  about  State  rights  and  constitutional  restrictions!  Have  they  not  been 
the  consistent  supporters  of  an  administration  that  is  steeped,  doubly  steeped,  in 
the  darkest  dye  of  federalism  1  Have  they  forgotten  their  course  on  the  New 
Jer-ey  question?  Have  they  forgotten  the  course  of  their  co-laborers  in  the  Sen- 
ate, in  arraigning  the  States  of  this  Union  for  daring  to  go  in  debt!  When  I 
think  of  these  things,  and  then  hear  these  gentlemen  talking  of  State  rights,  1  am 
reminded  of  Robespierre  haranguing  the  Jacobin  club  on  the  blessings  of  freedom, 
whilst  the  heads  of  innocent  victims  were,  borne  on  pikes  through  the  streets  of 
Paris.  I  cannot  afford  to  learn  State  rights  in  such  a  school. 

Mr.  Chairman,  I  must  confess  that  I  was  not  only  surprised  but  pained  at  the 
general  tenor  of  the  speech  of  my  friend  from  Virginia.  In  the  outset  of  his  re- 
marks, he  alluded  to  certain  misrepresentations  and  suspicions  which,  he  said, 
had  been  indulged  in  towards  him.  As  to  me,  he  knows,  or  he  ought  to  know, 
that  I  am  the  last  one  in  the  world  to  do  him  injustice.  He  is  "  grappled 
to  my  heart  with  a  hook  of  steel,"  too  strong  to  be  broken  by  any  political 
developments  here.  I  have  hung  upon  his  eloquence  with  too  much  raplure,  I 
have  gazed  upon  his  brilliant  and  gallant  career  with  too  intense  an  admiration, 
to  indulge  the  least  censure  against  his  course.  Fer  me  to  attempt  to  admonish 
him,  or  to  criticise  his  conduct,  would  be,  like  a  raw  recruit  attempting  to 
lecture  an  experienced  general  upon  the  art  of  war.  Suspect  him  !  No,  sir.  No 
one  suspects  him  ;  no  one  can.  No  one  has  any  right  to  suspect  him.  His  ser- 
vices have  been  too  great,  his  devotion  to  the  best  interests  of  his  country  has 
been  too  well  proven,  to  allow  any  one  to  suspect  for 'a  moment  the  purity  of  his 
motives,  although  we  may  feel  grieved  that  a  sincere  conviction  of  duty  may  lead 
him  to  differ  with  his  friends.  And,  sir,  I  must  say,  my  feelings  compel  me  to 
say,  that  his  speech  fell  ominously  upon  my<ear.  And  ought  the  gentleman  to 
complain  that  his  views  have  been  the  subject  of  conversation  and  conjecture!  It 
is  the  highest  compliment  that  could  be  paid  him.  We  know  the  strength  of  his 
giant  arm  too  well,  not  to  feel  annoyed,  even  at  the  possibility  of  losing  his  aid  in 
carrying  out  the  great  system  of  reform  which  we  have  promised  to  the  country. 
We  know  that  lie  was  one  of  the  first  who  dared  to  "  beard  the  Douglass  in  his 
hall,  and  the  lion  in  his  den."  We  know  that  he  risked  not  only  his  political  but 
his  personal  safety,  in  dragging  from  their  hiding  places  the  foul  agents  of  corrup- 
tioo,  and  exposing  their  enormities  to  the  light  of  day.  And  will  he  not  allow  us 
to  express  our  regret,  our  sorrow,  at  the  prospect  of  a  difference  of  opinion  be- 
tween him  and  us!  It  appeared  to  me  that  he  travelled  out  of  his  way  to  attack 
most  of  the  great  principles  under  which  we  have  marched  to  victory,  and  to 
which  we  stand  pledged  to  the  people  to  conform  our  action.  Whilst  bearing  tes- 
timony to  the  utility  and  necessity  of  a  national  bank,  yet  he  says  he  is  opposed 
to  mooting  the  subject  until  confidence  is  restored.  Sir,  have  we  not  advocated 
such  an  institution,  as  the  great  agent/or  restoring  confidence  !  Would  he  leave 
in  operation,  and  unrepealed,  the  sub-Treasury,  which  has  so  long  been  the  theme 


UC  SOUTHERN^REGIONA^LIBRAR^FACILITY  _ 

23 

"A 000  654  467     0 

of  his  withering  denunciation  1  Or  would  he  .v,aun  temporarily  to  the  State  bank 
system,  which  he  has  equally  condemned  ?  Is  he  for  waiting  until  there  is  no 
commerce  to  foster,  no  revenue  to  preserve? 

He  protested  in  advance  against  an  extra  session,  and  yet  says  he  is  for  consul- 
tation and  compromise.  Why,  then,  not  wail  until  General  Harrison  has  had  an 
opportunity  of  consulting  his  friends  on  such  a  step?  Why  furnish,  in  advance, 
our  enemies  with  an  argument  against  us,  in  case  an  extra  session  shall  be  found 
to  be  indispensable?  He  says  such  a  measure  would  be  unwise  in  the  present 
excited  state  of  political  feeling,  and  tells  us  to  go  home  and  consult  our  constit- 
uents. Is  there  a  member  here  who  does  not  know  the  feelings  and  wishes  of  his 
constituents  1  My  friend  certainly  does  not  mean  to  insinuate  that  the  great  polit- 
ical excitement  through  which  we  have  just  passed,  was  the  mere  effervescence  of 
popular  feeling,  and  not  the  result  of  calm  and  dispassionate  conviction.  If  so, 
he  has  himself  been  deceived,  for  he  marched  in  the  front  of  the  battle.  Has  not 
reform — a  thorough  and  speedy  reform — been  our  watch-word?  Has  it  not 
floated  on  our  banners? — has  it  not  been  constantly  on  our  lips? — has  it  not 
nerved  and  animated  our  hearts?  The  glory  of  our  triumph  has  been,  that  it  was 
the  result  of  an  impulse  that  came  bounding  from  the  hearts  of  a  wronged  and  in- 
dignant" people.  We  have  labored  under  the  same  grievances,  and  been  anima- 
ted by  the  same  enthusiasm,  from  the  Aroostook  to  the  Sabine,  and  from  the 
ocean  to  the  mountains.  And  never  was  there  a  representative  body  so  well  cal- 
culated to  reflect  the  views,  and  carry  out  the  wishes  of  their  constituents,  as  the 
Congress  that  is  to  succeed  us.  And,  after  having  conquered  in  a  great  battle, 
shall  we  slop  short,  like  Hannibal  at  the  gates  of  Rome,  without  possessing  our- 
selves of  the  citadel  ?  No,  sir,  no,  sir,  Let  us  press  forward.  Let  us  carry  out 
the  system  of  reform  which  we  have  promised  to  the  people — a  reform  not  only 
of  men,  but  of  measures.  And  now  is  the  time,  when  the  popular  impulse  is  up, 
before  the  enemy  has  time  to  recover  from  his  defeat ;  and  the  sooner  we  act,  the 
more  speedy  will  be  the  relief  to  the  country.  For  if,  after  all  the  promises  we 
have  made,  and  all  the  high  hopes  and  expectations  we  have  excited,  we  now  stop 
short,  and  leave  to  time  to  effect  what  can  only  be  done  by  prompt  and  decisive 
action — if  we  leave  the  currency  of  the  country  still  to  suffer,  the  commerce  to 
languish,  the  public  money  unprotected,  the  Treasury  bankrupt,  the  places  of 
trust  and  honor  in  the  hands  of  political  gamblers,  we  shall  soon  find  that  our 
triumph  will  be  as  short-lived  as  it  will  be  barren  in  its  fruits,  and  that,  after  all, 
we  shall  have  but 

" A  barren  sceptre  in  our  gripe," 

Soon  "to  be  wrenched  with  an  unlineal  hand, 

No"  friend  "  of  ours  succeeding." 

The  gentleman  from  Virginia  said  he  was  opposed  to  proscription  for  opinion's 
sake.  And  who  is  not?  Yet  why  indulge  the  supposition,  the  probability,  or 
even  possibility,  of  General  Harrison  removing  any  one  from  office  for  this  cause 
alone?  I,  too,  am  opposed  to  such  a  course;  yet  I  believe  that,  if  "honesty, 
capability,,  and  faithfulness  to  the  constitution,"  are  to  constitute  the  criterion  for 
office,  the  official  corps  will  be  thoroughly  reorganized;  and  if  the  opinions  of  my 
friend  are  not  changed,  he  must  entertain  the  same  views.  I  know  he  would  not 
retain  in  office  that  band  of  plunderers  and  defaulters  whose  peculations  he  has 
himself  so  ably  exposed ;  and,  if  I  do  not  mistake  his  opinions,  he  believes  a 
system  of  investigation  would  expose  the  same  corruption  in  every  branch  of  the 
public  service. 

My  friend  from  Virginia,  in  the  course  of  his  remarks,  made  an  allusion  to  my 
State,  in  reply  to  a  playful  remark  of  my  friend  and  colleague,  (Mr.  STANLY,) 
which  I  thought  a  little  unkind,  knowing,  as  he  said,  our  sensitiveness  on  the  sub- 
ject. He  remarked  that  North  Carolina  had  so  long  followed  Virginia,  that  she 
now  felt  like  an  apprentice  just  set  free.  Sir,  North  Carolina  needs  no  defender 


24 

here;  and  if  she  did,  she  would  be  unfortunate  in  having  no  abler  advocate  than 
myself.  She  disregards  the  reproaches  and  the  vauntings  of  her  Northern  and  her 
Southern  neighbor.  She  stands  not  still — whilst  the  rest  of  the  Union  is  marching 
on  in  the  career  of  prosperity  and  improvement — to  deal  with  the  vague  abstractions 
of  the  one,  nor  does  she  run  mad  after  all  the  wild  vagaries  of  the  other.  But  there 
she  rests,  calm  and  quiet  as  the  surface  of  her  eastern  bays,  yet  firm  and  unshaken 
as  her  western  hills.  It  is  sufficient  compliment  to  her  to  say  that,  whilst  on  the 
North  and  the  South  of  her,  the  spirit  of  reform  has  been  unable  to  contend  with  the 
demon  of  faction,  yet,  on  entering  her  borders,  the  flag  of  freedom  floats  in  triumph 
from  her  Atlantic  beach  to  her  mountain  tops.  She  reposes  not  on  the  fame  of 
her  ancestors  ;  she  boasts  not  of  their  former  renown.  And  if  she  has  not  as  many 
bright  names  to  adorn  her  history  as  those  who  revile  her,  she  is  saved  the  dis- 
grace of  violating  their  dying  precepts,  and  of  dishonoring  their  shades.  Let  it 
be  recollected  that  Athens  was  once  the  proudest  and  noblest  State  of  Greece. 
All  the  other  members  of  that  confederacy  were  proud  to  do  her  honor.  Yet,  in 
process  of  time,  she  was  the  first  to  surrender  her  freedom  to  the  golden  bribes  of 
Philip;  whilst  the  Thebans,  who  had  once  been  the  objects  of  her  reproach,  per- 
ished nobly  on  the  field  of  Chseronea  with  the  expiring  liberties  of  Gruece.  My 
friend  from  Virginia  may  take  the  allusion  and  apply  it  at  his  leisure. 

I  will  not  suffer  myself  to  indulge  in  any  apprehensions  or  misgivings  as  to  the 
policy  of  General  Harrison's  administration.  He  is  the  mere  ag'ent  of  a  great 
popular  movement.  He  cannot,  he  will  not,  he  dare  not,  attempt  to  check  the 
progress  of  that  great  political  revolution  through  which  we  have  just  passed.  Let 
him  but  throw  himself  in  the  current  of  that  popular  impulse,  which  has  swept 
like  a  deluge  over  the  land,  and  which  now,  when  the  storm  is  passed,  will  flow 
on  in  one  smooth  and  placid  stream,  until  it  is  lost  in  the  great  ocean  of  national 
prosperity  and  national  glory.  Let  him  but  do  this,  and  the  history  of  the  period 
through  which  we  have  just  come,  will  serve  as  a  lesson  to  tyrants  in  all  future 
time,  that  they  are  not  to  treat  with  scorn  the  sufferings  of  a  free  and  noble  people. 


